It was a royal ride for Yousuf Fareed and his friends to Chepauk stadium on Saturday evening as they hired a chauffeur-driven Mercedes Benz to watch the Chennai Super Kings take on the Mumbai Indians.
Says 29-year-old Fareed, a businessman from Coimbatore who was here in Chennai on work: “My friends here got hold of passes to the match. So we thought we should top it up by enjoying a jolly, comfortable ride from home to the stadium. We are also planning a party after the match.”
Luxury car rentals are seeing a spurt in demand during the Indian Premier League (IPL) season as working professionals, businessmen and rich teenagers look to flaunt their cricket craze.
The IPL has become a good form of entertainment for family and friends. So a luxury ride only adds to this excitement, says Gaurav Aggarwal, CEO, Savaari Car Rental.
Demand is focussed on the Mercedes Benz, Camry and BMWs, says M.P. Balakrishnan, Founder of Bala Tourist. An S-Class Benz costs Rs 17,000 for 8-hour/80 km ride while the E-Class Benz comes at a slightly less expensive Rs 11,000.
The price tag on renting a Camry is Rs 8,500.
Luxury cars normally account for around 20-25 per cent of Savaari’s daily bookings.
This has shot up to 35 per cent now, primarily due to the IPL, says Aggarwal.
“We have observed good demand in Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, which have hosted the IPL matches so far. While this trend started last year, the demand for high-end cars is already showing signs of doubling from the last IPL season.”
If cricket fans can go crazy over luxury, can team owners be left behind? Bala Tourist, one of the oldest and largest operators in Chennai, has supplied S-class and E-class Mercedes cars to the Reliance group, which owns the Mumbai Indians’ team, for shuttling ‘high-profile’ passengers, including team owners, between the hotel and the match venue. Savaari has tied up with Rajasthan Royals to transport team staff at all IPL venues.
The rising tide has also helped smaller operators, who have seen demand pick up on cars such as Toyota Innova, Corolla and Maruti Dzire.
“These vehicles are most sought after by companies to transport senior company officials,” said R. Sridhar of Sree Krishna Travels.