New buyer age: Young and restless driving change at motown’s luxury street
Luxury car buyers in India are getting younger with two out of five Audi buyers aged less than 40. At Mercedes-Benz India, buyers have an average age of 38 years, the youngest for the German luxury carmaker globally.
The scenario is similar at BMW India where consumers aged 35-40 contribute bulk of the sales.
According to senior auto industry executives, the 'YOLO' (You Only Live Once) attitude in the aftermath of the pandemic has spawned a rise in the indulgence quotient in terms of buying luxury goods such as cars.
India's changing corporate landscape has led to the emergence of a slew of young well-heeled professionals — doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, and startup entrepreneurs. This has triggered a shift in sales away from the traditionally gilded business families for carmakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Lexus over the last couple of years.
In fact, as much as a third of all luxury vehicles sold by BMW India is to a corporate professional currently, up from single digit tallies a few years back. BMW Group India president Vikram Pawah told ET that in the last one year itself, the customer profile has altered significantly.
«The share of corporates is increasing (in sales). And within that too, few sectors such as startups are dominating.»
«Today, one out of every three vehicles sold is to the corporate sector (which includes salaried employees, professionals, start-up entrepreneurs).
