Prime News, National (New Delhi), August 1:- India has proved to be a robust market for British luxury cars as latest figures released by the UK automotive industry this week indicate a spike in exports from the United Kingdom (UK) to India.

India is now the seventh largest Asian market for UK car exports, according to the latest figures. Indian demand for UK’s premium cars rose 8.3 percent in the first half of 2017. Over the same period, the number of Indian-built models registered by British buyers rose by almost half (48.6 percent) to 21,135 units.

“The demand in India tends to be in the premium segment and the latest figures reflect the growing attraction of Britain’s luxury brands in the country,” said Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Exports to India grew to 1,650 units this year, moving India up from eighth place in 2016 to seventh for the UK automotive industry as an increasing number of affluent buyers take advantage of a range of all new premium and luxury British-built cars, according to the membership-led trade body.

The European Union (EU) remained the UK’s biggest trading partner, accounting for more than half of all cars produced for export (54.6 percent), with Germany and Italy the UK’s second and third biggest single markets. The SMMT found that EU countries make up half of UK automotive’s top 10 export destinations, highlighting the importance of continued free trade.

“World class engineering and products, strong government collaboration and massive investment have helped UK Automotive become a global success story. At the heart of this has been the free and frictionless trade we’ve enjoyed with the EU by far our biggest customer and supplier,” Hawes cautioned.

-(NAV, Inputs: Agencies)

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