Auto India, Car India

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The British sports car-maker, Caterham Cars is all set to enter into the Indian market. It launched its cars in association with Burmans, the promoters of Dabur, an FMGC company. The company announced this at the inauguration of Indian Grand Prix. The Burmans want to start an assembly unit in Noida and also invest almost $ 10 million in this enterprise over a period of next two years.

Caterham Cars Managing Director Ansar Ali said, “We think we are entering India at the right time when the country is set to host its first Formula One race. Caterham being motorsports oriented, we think we can provide an affordable option to motorsports enthusiasts here.”

The car maker has plans on the anvil to produce Caterham Seven and their latest sports car SP300, which costs about 66,000 pounds. The Indian operations of the company will be handled by a separate entity - Caterham Cars India. This will be owned and operated by the scions of the Burman family, Gaurav Burman and Mohit Burman in partnership with  Matt Cummings, who is a citizen of UK and a veteran sports car racer.

Gaurav Burman informed that the car assembly unit will start functioning from March next year. They would like to invite customers to take a look at the car-building process. He added that “A Caterham Car would cost you something between Rs 28 lakhs to Rs 90 lakhs; so we are targeting the affluent, racing enthusiasts of India who are well aware of niche racing cars. The launch is scheduled at exactly the right time just as the brand new Indian Grand Prix signals the arrival of Indian motorsport on the world stage.”

The cars would be customized according to the needs of the clients. The auto giant wants to target the age group of 35 to 45 years of the affluent class who love racing cars.

The promoters have plans to open the reputed Caterham Car Academy in India. This academy will be set up near the Buddh International Circuit in order to let the people see the cars and drive them for fun. This will help building the brand image of the newly launched car in the country. This center will be opened soon after the assembly unit starts functioning. Cummins said that the “direct customer experiences” is what they will focus on, instead of setting up dealerships in the country.

The Caterham Cars are quite popular in countries like UK, Gulf, Japan, France, and Spain. The promotion of the car will be done by showcasing it to the individuals, various corporate houses and creating a niche within the auto industry.

Tony Fernandes, the owner of Caterham Cars and the promoter of Lotus F1 teams and Airlines Asia wants to sell about 10,000 units of cars across the globe per year, instead of 500 units per year. He has high hopes from the Indian market.