CHENNAI: Limousines or limos — long, classy and incredibly expensive — have thus far been associated with only the uber rich, Hollywood stars and red carpet events. Now these pricey marks of status could well be availble for rent for normal run-of-the-mill Chennaiites within the year.
A national car rental company, Eco Rent A Car, specialising in the premium and corporate car rental segment, is planning to expand its limousine rental services to the South - and Chennai is definitely on the radar. “We are planning to expand our limousine services to the South within the next year. Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are all under consideration,” said Aditya Loomba, Joint Managing Director, Eco Rent A Car.
The company currently runs a fleet of five original Chrysler Stretch Limousines in three cities - Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Chandigarh.
The rental service is targeting two very large segments: corporate clientele and weddings including aspirational luxury retail clientele. With Mercedes cars, Beemers (BMWs) and Audis already the mainstays in most weddings, the company believes that limousines could well carve its niche in the Chennai market.
“Weddings are already big business for us in the retail segment and with weddings getting more luxurious we see a huge potential here,” said Loomba.
Chennai’s wedding planners agree. According to Vivekanand S K of Epic Weddings, there has been an upsurge in Chennaiites going for fancy cars for weddings. “There is definitely a huge demand here for such services. Currently, the best we can get out of Chennai is a Mercedes S class or a Jaguar. When clients ask for a Bentley or a Rolls Royce we have to bring them down from Bangalore,” he said.
Limousine rentals in the cities currently being servi-
ced average around 50 bookings a month. While, Eco Rent A Car has not yet decided on prices for Chennai, current prices in the three cities where the service is being offered is Rs 15,000 for two hours and Rs 10,000 for every additional two hours.