Kochi: The tottering economy of Kerala is no match to a high-income country like Oman. But when you consider the sales of luxury cars, Kerala is shoulder to shoulder with the GCC country. In 2021, when Oman accounted for the sales of 560 units of top selling luxury car brand in the world Mercedes Benz, Kerala is not far behind at 520.
If you take the average sales of the past few years, Kerala is likely to be ahead of Oman. In fact, Kerala had seen sales of nearly a thousand Mercedes Benz cars. The sales went down due to the breakout of the coronavirus but are likely to get back to pre-pandemic levels this year itself. In terms of numbers, the India luxury car market is ahead of Middle East countries. But if you consider the price, the Gulf market has the advantage.
In the Gulf too, German brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi lead the luxury car market. Hence, in total sales, these companies are neck and neck in both Oman and Kerala. BMW had sold 500 cars in Kerala last year. However, super premium brands like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce and others have a bigger market share in Oman than Kerala.
The Kerala luxury car market is buoyed by the rise in demand from entrepreneurs. Earlier, expatriate Malayalis had an upper hand. Now, corporate executives and professionals are also buying luxury cars. Presenting luxury cars as wedding gift is also on the rise.