Taxes/ customs duties on imported cars are quite high in India, but people who can afford such cars can digest that kind of taxation, according to luxury sports car maker Lamborghini.

India imposes more than 100 per cent import duty on completely built units (CBUs).

Also read: India has a lot of potential to grow in super luxury cars segment: Lamborghini Chairman & CEO

“For sure, we know, it is not a secret, there is taxation, especially on the luxury car, more than on luxury goods ... it is very high. And for sure, it is something that can sometimes block the purchase. I think that anyway, people who can afford such a car, can also digest this kind of taxation,” Federico Foschini - Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A told businessline recently.

“All Lamborghini customers travel a lot, not only for business, but also for personal leisure and holidays, so they are also looking around and comparing, and in the global world that sometimes creates some debate,” he explained.

“This is the situation, we know that it is, we cannot do anything, we need to accept ... But, we also need to consider that these are luxury goods and for those who can afford and want to have it in India, this is the rule. And, the good thing is that at the moment, it is the same for everybody, it is a fair game,” he added.

Asked about assembling the cars in India, Foschini said “it’s not worth it” because it would be a complexity to manage an additional plant.

“We didn’t do that for the US, for China...So such a product, with such numbers, should stay in one plant and that’s it. So, there is no way to have localisation. Everywhere in the world, the cars come from Sant’Agata (the only plant in Italy),” he said.

Also read: Lamborghini sold out in India for 2024: Francesco Scardaoni

He said it’s not only a combination of financial sustainability and complexity, but also giving the right value to the product built in Sant’Agata. Having said that, he added that India will not be behind any country in terms of getting the latest products.

“The good thing about India is that we have the same homologation that we have in Europe. Lamborghini’s strategy is to be in each and every market with a full portfolio. And the only limitation sometimes is the time of introduction due to homologation. This is not the case of India,” Foschini added.

By the end of the decade (2030), Lamborghini will launch the Lanzador, its first electric car. Before that, three hybrids -- Revuelto, Urus hybrid and Huracan hybrid -- will hit the market at the end of 2025.

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