American race car brand Shelby is keen on not just beginning sales operations in India, but its Europe-based distributor is in talks with a few companies to build the iconic and expensive cars in the country.
Coronavirus and the ensuing economic slowdown has delayed Shelby’s entry into India which was otherwise planned for 2019. Pune-based AJP Group was believed to be Shelby’s partner responsible for import, assembly and modifications of the cars.
However, AJP’s plans did not materialise and Shelby’s official distributor started dialogues with other potential partners soon after.
An email to AJP remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.
Volkhard Juergens, Managing Director, GU Autotrade BV, the official distributor for Shelby and Tuscany said, “Unfortunately, coronavirus has pushed back some of our plans as well as our plans for India. For India, I see that we have to produce our cars CKD (completely knocked down) in the country. My wish is to have a modshop to build cars in Mumbai. I am in discussion with some companies who would love to join us.”
Modshops are where cars are modified to suit local tastes.
Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Shelby American manufactures performance vehicles and related products such as the Cobra range, Shelby GT, Shelby GT500, Super Snake and the muscle truck Shelby Raptor.
Though price range of such cars in India will be clearer after the company establishes some operations in the country, at more than $125,000 (the US price) these may retail at over Rs 1 crore in India even if done through a local assembly operation. GU Autotrade BV is even contemplating bring the Shelby E Bike to India, a battery-electric bicycle that offers a range of 40-75 miles to a full charge.
“The products which I see mainly for India are Shelby Mustang Supersnake, Shelby Mustang GT-H, Shelby Offroad and Supersnake Trucks, Shelby E Bike and Shelby Merchandise,” Juergens said in an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol.
Shelby won’t have too much competition in India in its product segment and price range. Porsche is the only brand that sells performance, race-oriented cars in India similar to Shelby. Porsche, however, does not have any CKD operation in India.
“We are not in a hurry. I want to make sure first, that we can guarantee the right and proper setup for India before we enter the market. I have a target to be ready for India in autumn this year. My wish is also to build a relationship with Ford India and their dealers. From market research we did, we found that there is a high demand for our cars in India,” added Juergens.
Owned by Ford Motor Company, Shelby also developed race car for Ford which is the Mustang. Ford launched the Mustang in 2016 in India making it the costliest car on sale (current price Rs 75 lakh) wearing the Ford badge. A 2020 version of the Mustang is expected later in the year.
“Our cars are collector cars and I need to make sure, that the Indian customers get the best product, the best distribution setup and the best service,” Juergens said.
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