By Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Lamborghini and Mercedes-Maybach plan to expand in India as a growing tribe of young, rich Indians splurge on super luxury cars, driving their sales to record levels.

Italian supercar maker Lamborghini, fresh from a year of record sales, is exploring a fourth showroom in India, while Mercedes-Maybach sees the country as a potential top-five market by sales, company executives said.

"India, for us, is an asset ... there is a huge potential for the future. There is the idea of having maybe a fourth dealership but this is still something in the early stages," Lamborghini's Stephan Winkelmann told reporters at a virtual roundtable.

The optimism is driven by "a change in generation" in the country with "momentum from younger customers", he said, adding that the average age of a Lamborghini buyer in India is below 40 years - making it the youngest market after China.

"You have a lot of startups in India which are very successful. You have very young, high net worth individuals which are stepping into this type of car. So this is positive for us," he said.

Rapid economic growth in India has wrought a fundamental shift in attitude towards luxury purchases among its younger generations that differs from their elders, who were more concerned with saving.

Executives at startups cashing out after record public listings and younger generations of a family business spending with less guilt are driving up sales of all things luxury - cars, watches, bags and even homes.

But luxury car sales in India make up just over 1% of the 4 million vehicles-a-year market, and super luxury cars are an even smaller percentage.

Lamborghini had its best year in India in 2024, selling 113 cars, up 10% on 2023. Winkelmann expects growth again this year, on the back of a strong order book lasting 18 months.

Its Urus SUV, which has a starting price tag of close to $500,000 before taxes, made up half its sales, with the rest coming from the Huracan and Revuelto sports cars.

Mercedes-Maybach achieved 145% growth in India in 2024, selling 500 of its super luxury cars priced upwards of $325,000 in a market where the average car costs about $15,000.

Daniel Lescow, head of Mercedes-Maybach, said India was already in its top 10 markets and had the potential to be in the top five, but the speed of growth would depend on how the luxury market develops.

"I'm convinced there's so much more potential ... so many opportunities here," Lescow told Reuters.