Indian women buyers rev up luxury car market

Marketers call it the she-conomy. But for luxury car brands, it's simply a new niche to crack in their search for volumes. India's women consumers are now showing increasing interest in luxury cars. As more and more companies target this segment with products and services customized to cater to women car buyers, their numbers are beginning to make business sense. "Take Mercedes Benz whose stable of sedans and SUVs earlier attracted a small number of women buyers. According to a company survey in 2011, just 5% of all Merc buyers were women. But that trend is beginning to change thanks to the new A Class, launched end May this year. Said 

Eberhard Kern, managing director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India: "The A Class is attracting a completely new class of customers that is typically between 25-35 years old and the share of women buyers is much higher than other models. Nearly all A Class buyers are self drivers and surprisingly they are spread all over India, both in metros as well as in Tier II or III cities."

Arch rival BMW's X range of SUVs are attractive for women for several reasons. "Women prefer models like the X1 because of a combination of reasons, the automatic is a big draw, the cars are easy to control and the run-flat tyres means they don't need to stop and change if there's a puncture," said the BMW spokesman. 

Ditto for Lamborghini which, said head of operations Pavan Shetty, has "recently started getting some enquiries from women prospects but mostly from metros. We had a few women enthusiasts participate in the track experience in Delhi and we were pleasantly surprised with the comfort with which they drove. With the luxury car segment slowly maturing in India, we expect the number of lady drivers of luxury cars to catch up," added Shetty.

Said Michael Perschke, head, Audi India: "A good number of luxury SUVs are being purchased by women in India and hence this is one of the special target segments for the brand. As part of our marketing activities, we also engage with our women audience with exclusive initiatives like the "The Audi Women's Power Drive", which brought together successful women from all walks of life to drive the Audi Q3, Audi Q5 and Audi Q7across intense, challenging terrains."

Also read: Tips for women drivers to stay safe on road