McLaren to sell its supercars in India’s price-sensitive market

McLaren is trying to win over buyers in India, a market infamous in the automotive world for being demanding on price.

The British luxury-car maker is looking to tap into the country’s growing affluent class with its first showroom in Mumbai, due to open in October, it said in a statement on Monday. McLaren will sell a wide range of models including the GT, 720S and 765LT vehicles and its first hybrid car, the Artura.

Breaking into the country may be a challenge. The value-conscious market is dominated by Maruti Suzuki India’s low-cost vehicles. Automakers including Ford have struggled to gain a foothold in India, where high tariffs make imported cars more expensive.

Ford shut its car factories in India last year after General Motors stopped selling vehicles there in 2017. Toyota said in 2020 it won’t expand further in the country due to the high tax regime. Tesla wants the Indian government to lower taxes so it can sell imported cars to test the market before committing to building a factory.

McLaren said it has selected Infinity Cars, which also distributes brands including BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ducati, as its first retail partner in India.

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