It’s surely ‘Carma’ for Indian car enthusiasts. Long used to driving the boxy Premier Padmini and stodgy Ambassadors, Indians are discovering the pleasure of wheels once again as most global automakers are launching cars in India at a feverish pace.

The Indian car mart came of age in 1983 when Maruti Udyog launched cars with Japanese partner Suzuki. However there was a lull for almost a decade as the market was not open. But once the sector was liberalized in 1993, there was a sudden influx of foreign manufacturers like Daewoo, Ford,
General Motors, Peugeot (which exited India in 1999) among others.

However, these are mass manufacturers of cars targeting the burgeoning middle class. As income levels grew, auto majors realized they could not ignore the Indian market. Heads rolled, eyes locked and hearts burned with desire as luxury brand British marquee Bentley rolled its wheels in India. Bentley launched Continental GT and Arnage R. Soon Rolls-Royce followed by launching Phantom. BMW is mulling starting plant to either assemble or manufacture cars in India.

The price tag of these cars- that runs over Rs. 10 million became a figure of insignificance to certain section of the Indian luxury car buyers. Today, Indians too drive one of the costliest cars in the world-Maybach.

Before independence in 1947, India was perhaps the biggest market for Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Mercedes and even Maybachs, outside of the U.S. and Europe with the royal class forming the bulk of the buyers. We still have many fine examples of these marques parked in some rather exclusive garages. Now it looks like history's going to repeat itself.