Four-door cars way to go, even for sporty Indians

Toyota's small car to be 10% more fuel efficient than Maruti, Hyundai  →  Volkswagen to launch Polo in H1 2010, Beetle, others to follow Says Wallace: “India is a family-oriented nation. A person buying a two-door car might be looked upon as being self indulgent and selfish. So, the Panamera, which can be called your everyday sports car, will rake in the numbers for us. We have already sold half of our proposed stock for the year. I feel we have underestimated the demand.” The Panamera retails for more than Rs 1.5 crore. In contrast, the in-your-face sporty convertible Boxster retails for roughly Rs 62 lakh. Then just a few days ago, another German carmaker BMW launched its delicious Rs 60-lakh Z4, a two-door roadster here. Says a BMW spokesperson, “We are not looking for volumes with such products. It’s a niche segment. We call such products brand shapers.” Incidentally, BMW sells another range of coupes here known as the 6 Series. Though comparatively cheaper than the company’s luxurious four-door sedan, the 7 Series, the sales of the 6 Series range hasn’t really taken off. For every 100 7 Series cars, BMW sells around eight 6 Series cars here. Says Suhas Khadlaskar, director for corporate affairs and HR at Mercedes-Benz India: “Two-door cars are usually a second choice for our customers. In most cases, we have seen that people who already have an E-Class or S-Class would perhaps opt for an SLK-AMG. It’s more a weekend car.” The SLK-AMG is Mercedes-Benz’s two-door two-seater sports convertible. But then even in the fat cat segment of the automobile space, space matters, as Satya Bagla, the distributor for Lamborghini and Bentley in India points out. Crewe-based luxury carmaker Bentley, has the Bentley Continental GT Speed, a muscular luxury sports coupe, on offer. According to Bagla it is giving tough competition to its four-door cousin because despite having two doors it’s essentially a four seater. “The GT Speed is one of the best selling coupes in the luxury car market,” he says. “But then it has space for four and that is perhaps the reason.” In the end, India has proved it once again. Power matters, but only if you knock at the right door.