Jains purchase 186 luxury cars, drive bargain to save `21 crore

Ahmedabad: Showcasing its collective buying strength, the Jain community has purchased 186 luxury cars — including BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes — securing discounts worth Rs 21 crore through a unique group deal facilitated by the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO).

“This one-of-its-kind initiative saw our members across India take delivery of 186 cars priced between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.3 crore each between January and June this year,” said JITO vice president Himanshu Shah. “Our role was purely facilitative; JITO did not earn any profit from the deal,” he added.

Most of the purchases were made by Jains from Gujarat. The idea emerged when some members suggested leveraging the community’s purchasing power to negotiate directly with automakers for better deals.

“Since strong buying power is one of our biggest assets, we approached luxury car brands directly. The manufacturers saw a win-win opportunity, as they could save on marketing costs while offering us larger discounts,” said Nitin Jain, who led the initiative.

According to him, once the news of substantial discounts spread, more members joined in, eventually saving between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 17 lakh per car. “Some even saved enough to buy another vehicle for a family member,” he said with a smile.

Encouraged by this success, JITO has launched another initiative, ‘Utsav,’ to negotiate similar community-wide discounts with leading brands in jewellery, consumer durables, and electronics.