Take home your fav BMW, Mercedes, Audi on EMIs

Want to get behind the wheel of your favourite luxury car but running short of money? Don't fret; help is at hand. Luxury carmakers have come up with personalised and flexible finance options this festive season to boost sales.

According to BMW India, its finance arm BMW Financial Services currently finances/leases every second BMW sold. Most luxury car companies, including German majors Mercedes Benz India, Audi India and BMW India, have come out with tailor-made finance options as more and more luxury car buyers opting for credit.

Suppose you want to buy a Merc B-Class. Instead of paying hefty EMIs every month, the company's finance arm will ensure you pay a low EMI for 11 months and go for a bigger sum for the last month of the year.

"We have several finance options available depending on a customer's needs and availability of finance. However, interest charged (for a loan taken from a company's finance arm) is slightly higher than that of HDFC Bank or ICICI Bank among others," a city luxury car dealer said.

Aspirational luxury cars are increasingly getting affordable with companies launching cars in the sub-Rs30 lakh category. This has helped in expanding the segment in the past one year despite the slowdown in overall car sales.

During the festive season, companies and dealers expect 15-20% higher sales compared to the rest of the year. "With the festive period approaching, we are expecting higher customer traction at our dealerships. Our smart and attractive financial solutions from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services like 'Flexinomics', 'Star Agility, Star Lease' and 'Star Supersonic' loan approvals are all tailor-made for our customers. These solutions will provide benchmark value proposition, enabling a hassle free purchase, while our service programmes like Star Care, Star Ease and Road Side Assistance, will enhance the customer's overall ownership experience," said Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

"We do see a marked uptake in sales during this season as customers like to buy during the auspicious festive months. We provide our customers several attractive service offerings, insurance, finance and a complete ownership experience under our Audi Car Life programme. This has made our vehicles even more attractive and accessible to Audi fans," Joe King, head, Audi India, said. King has just completed an year at the helm on September 1.

BMW too has similar options through BMW Financial Services India, which offers customised financial service to customers by offering normal retail finance along with structured products. 'Balloon Repayment' provides customer the independence to opt for lower monthly instalments. In this option, the monthly instalments are kept smaller throughout the loan tenure and at the end the customer is given the option to either pay the lump sum amount or get a term extension. For salaried customers and businessmen, the company offers a choice of making a bulk payment once every year depending on when they expect a bonus or additional income. This way, they can keep the fixed monthly installment outflow low throughout the year, according to the company.

Around 32,000 units of luxury cars were sold in 2013 as compared to 28,000 units sold in 2012. Sales are expected to grow by 7-8% this year.