Sunday Special: COVID brings luxury car for hire business in Punjab to its knees; absence of NRIs biggest bummer

On Punjab’s Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway at his ‘Wedding Cars’ outlet, Talwinder Singh lifts a tarpaulin sheet to reveal a White Hummer H3 which he says was last in business this February.

At the nearby ‘Royal Limos’ outlet, Gary Singh has a similar plight to share about his Chrysler 300 Limousine that has not left the shop since February as well.

As has been the case with most businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the novel and lucrative business in Punjab to its knees.

Before the pandemic, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) used to come home to Punjab from the UK, Europe, the US and Canada for weddings. For the wedding ceremony and to bring the bride home, they love to hire big luxury cars as a status symbol and to come as close to having the same works as a marriage done abroad.

On the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway, one can spot a dozen such outlets in this business, with the choicest of luxury cars put on display for hire. These range from Chryslers to Hummers, BMWs, Bentley, Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar and Volvo. In good times, it would cost about Rs 50,000 to hire a Chrysler or a Hummer for a day while about Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 for the others. The BMW convertibles were a rage till last year as well.

However, things have changed drastically since COVID-19. Lockdowns and flying restrictions have brought this once booming niche business to a screeching halt since February.

"Business was slow for a year now. It revived a bit this winter between December and February but the second wave hit us very hard. Our main customers are NRIs who are not coming to Punjab due to the problem over flights,” Gary Singh told News18.

Talwinder Singh of ‘Wedding Cars’ says he had to sell off five out of the 15 cars he owns as is not able to pay the EMIs on car loans. He showed a Hummer H3, a BMW Convertible and a Bentley parked in his garage and said they have not been let out for the last five months. “Hummer was a lot in demand and fetched about Rs 50,000 for a day. Now no one is ready to hire it even for Rs 5000. We had to return advance in a lot of cases as marriages got called off,” he rues.

Singh adds that since marriages are not happening on a wide scale and limited gatherings are allowed due to Covid, people are choosing not to splurge on fancy cars as this is considered a luxury. “Even NRIs who came to Punjab early this year for weddings were tight on funds as the pandemic has hit them financially abroad too. All this has adversely impacted our business,” Singh says. They are staring at shutting shop if flights do not open completely to Canada and Europe. “The cost of maintaining these luxury cars is also very high.”

Business was booming till 2019

The business was booming till 2019 and many outlets had added to their fleet with bigger and better luxury cars. Even some locals have bought luxury cars for personal use which they used to let out to these outlets for subsequent hire by customers. The going rate then was about Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 for an Audi4 or an Audi 6 and Rs 30,000 for a BMW, Bentley or a Jaguar. “The craze was earlier for a Mercedes or an Audi but in recent years it is more for the Jaguars, Bentley and especially the BMW convertible,” says Talwinder Singh.

The biggest draw, however, remained the Chrysler 300 Limousine and the Hummer. Those wanting a royal experience of a long car with plush interiors were ready to pay up to Rs 50,000 for a Limousine. The Hummer, which has featured in Punjabi songs sung by popular international artists, has led to demand for the same as it portrays a “muscular Punjabi image” during weddings, says Singh.

But for now, both the Limousine and Hummer are cooling in the garage.