Rolls Royce Phanthom Coupe set to enter india

Betting big on the surging number of billionaires in the country, Rolls Royce Motor Cars, the UK-based super luxury car manufacturer, plans to introduce its new family of cars in India by mid-2010. The company is also in the process of expanding its products portfolio in the country with the launch of the Phantom Coupe, the last in the Phantom series, in November. The vehicle will carry a pricetag of Rs 3.5 crore.

"We are working on an additional range of cars, which will allow us to expand the brand further. The new family will not compete with the Phantom, but will be the second most expensive car in the world, priced below the Phantom," says Graeme Grieve, director (sales and marketing), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, adding that the new vehicle will be launched in India in the middle of 2010. Grieve was in Delhi to inaugurate the company's second dealership in country. The first one is in Mumbai since 2005.

Rolls Royce Motor Cars, which was acquired by BMW in 1998, is currently developing the new range of cars at its facility in Goodwood, England. The company offers Phantom, Phantom EWB and Phantom Drophead, priced between Rs 3.15 crore and Rs 3.55 crore, in India.

"With the growing demand for our cars in India, we will be launching our fourth car in the Phantom family, the Phantom Coupe, around November," says Matthew J Bennett, general manager, (south and east Asia Pacific), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

The car is priced at about $4,00,000 (over Rs 1.82 crore) in the international market. However, since the vehicle attracts an import duty of 110% in India, the prices go up substantially.

The company, which re-entered India in 2005, has since sold about 30 cars, including 12 units last year. "This year, till the end of the third quarter, we have already sold 12 cars and we hope to touch 16 by 2008-end," Bennett added.