A Golden Era

INDIANS' LOVE AFFAIR with gold is well known. The yellow metal has surged in value, repaying the trust India has reposed in it for decades.

As India's luxury market matures, however, consumers are diversifying their holdings to premium products across categories.

Passenger car manufacturers were among the first to recognise the premiumisation trend. Mercedes Benz and BMW are seeing record sales of their luxury models. Mercedes sold 17,400 cars in 2023, the most ever in India. BMW wasn't far behind with sales of 14,172 cars. The move towards luxury SUVs has driven automotive companies like M&M, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai to offer a greater number of premium SUVs than sedans. Nearly half of all passenger cars sold in India today are SUVs.

Niche luxury cars like Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari are also recording unprecedented sales to a new generation of affluent buyers. According to trade sources, Lamborghini sold 103 cars, each priced between Rs 5-10 crore on-road, in calendar 2023.

All existing stocks are sold out. Lamborghini can fulfil new orders only in 2026.

India's luxury market is expected to grow from $17 billion (Rs 1,42,000 crore) in 2024-25 to $90 billion (Rs 7,56,000 crore) in 2029-30. Pallavi Sehgal, a product and strategy consultant, wrote that India's luxury market currently "caters to a relatively small but highly influential segment of the population." She added: "This group, characterised by high disposable incomes and sophisticated tastes, primarily includes new-age entrepreneurs, high networth individuals, and the urban elite.

Their consumption patterns are often focused on specific luxury segments such as high-end automobiles, premium watches, and branded jewellery, which are seen as both status symbols and smart investments.