Why G20 is leaving Delhi with a shortage of luxury cars

Ahead of the G20 in September, New Delhi is facing a shortage of luxury cars. The G20 world leaders’ summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September.  The summit is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India. India will become the first South Asian nation to host the G20. New Delhi assumed the G20 Presidency on 1 December, 2022, from Indonesia. Let’s take a closer look: What happened? With thousands of leaders and delegates from over 20 member states and a slew of other invitees slated to attend the upcoming meet, the requirement for high-end luxury vehicles has massively increased, according to several media reports. CNBC reported that Delhi needs around 500 luxury vehicles during this period alone.

Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus and Toyota models are the most in demand.

Overall, around 2,800 to 3,000 cars including luxury cars, transport vans, SUVs, and coaches are needed. As per CNBC, G20 attendees will be transported in luxury cars such as Mercedes GLS, Mercedes S Class, Mercedes E Class, and Maybach. Guests will also be offered the BMW 5 Series, 7 Series, and the Audi Q7. [caption id=“attachment_13040852” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The BMW 5 Series. Image courtesy: bmw.in[/caption] Transport companies have been adding to their inventory this past year in light of the demand. The Ministry of External Affairs has on its own arranged for another 400 to 500 cars, as per CNBC. But this still hasn’t been enough.

As per The Times of India, some embassies require as many as 100 cars.

Fleet operators in Delhi are now being forced to transport cars from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Agra and Jaipur. “…the requirement is much bigger, and the transport departments of all embassies are trying to meet their needs by sourcing from the market. We are now telling them the particular vehicle they want will have to be brought from other cities and will cost that much more," a transporter told The Times of India. Amrit Mann, director, Mann Tours told The Times of India that a Merc E Class costs around Rs 30,000-50,000 for day while the S Class costs around Rs 65,000-1 lakh for a day. ‘Can’t fulfill demand’ Delhi-based operator Iqbal Singh told NDTV that fleet services are simply unable to keep up and are now buying luxury vehicles on a priority basis. “The demand for luxury cars is so high that Delhi operators can’t fulfil it. We have purchased seven-eight cars. In Delhi, around 30-35 cars from among E-S class have been bought. Besides, cars are also being brought from Mumbai, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Chandigarh,” Singh added. Singh says his fleet includes several luxury cards including a Maybach – the first to come to India since COVID-19. “It has been booked for the G20 summit, but it’s not known which high-profile person it has been assigned to. We were supposed to get it by October-November. But the government helped and Mercedes too understood the situation, and we got it prior to its scheduled delivery,” Singh added.

Harman Singh, director, Punia Trvlez, agreed.

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“There is an unprecedented demand for luxury wheels. The tour trade has placed orders for new cars and at least 10 new Merc S Class are going to be delivered over the next few days,” Singh told The Times of India. Singh recently purchased a Maybach S580 for over Rs 3 crore. He said he gets an inquiry for the luxury vehicle every hour. Mann added to CNBC, “Mann Tours is coordinating a fleet of over 300 vehicles for this occasion. India is on the verge of making history by hosting the G20 Summit. Because of the COVID pandemic, the industry capacity went down by 30 to 40 per cent and around 90 per cent of operators were in losses. The G20 Summit in the capital will benefit all companies and such an event was much needed.” A leading hotelier in Delhi told The Times of India, “We are getting queries from several embassies about other delegates who want to drive to other cities in India for sightseeing. They want to make hotel bookings and are tying up with rental operators for this. We expect the G20 impact to continue.” With inputs from agencies