Car purchase figures indicate residents' affluence

LUDHIANA: Another figure that clearly indicates the city���s affluence- half of the total number of cars that are sold in the state in a month are purchased by residents of the city itself.
According to estimates by leading car dealers in the city, more than 1,600 cars are sold here every month. Though the number of cars purchased by Punjabis varies from 3,600 to 4,500 every month, residents of Ludhiana never fall short of owning half the number of these cars.Punjab has the biggest market in north India after Delhi and of course, Ludhiana is the biggest in Punjab, commented Rishi Dada of Dada Motors. Dada added that the market is fast picking up and north India is doing better than the rest of India. But Punjab has always been better. Even during recession, the going has been pretty good, Rishi commented.
RS Uppal, dealer of Radiat Toyota, commented, ���Residents of the city alone buy half of the cars purchased in the entire state. If 3,600 cars are sold in the entire state in a month, residents of Ludhiana buy 1,600 of them.���
Uppal added that buying capacity of people in the city is much more than that in the state capital. Residents of Chandigarh, on an average, buy 400 to 450 cars and in comparison, the figure is four times this number for Ludhiana.
Even the companies have learned something from their past experience and nowadays offer a lot many prizes if cars are purchased during shraadhs. These are the days when due to religious beliefs, people are reluctant to buy new things.
���We are offering 2.5 gram of gold if booking is done during shraadhs,��� said Ravi Verma, general manager at Padam Motors, who too confirmed that Ludhiana is the biggest market in the state.
���Of the total average of 1,600 cars bought in a month, about 200 are high-end luxury cars,��� he said. But the car dealers are happier these days as shraadhs and navratras fall in the same month. People buy fewer cars during shraadhs, but they go in for purchases during navratras. On a monthly basis, business is not bad, said Rishi Dada.
According to estimates by leading car dealers in the city, more than 1,600 cars are sold here every month. Though the number of cars purchased by Punjabis varies from 3,600 to 4,500 every month, residents of Ludhiana never fall short of owning half the number of these cars.