The Jain community drove home 186 high-end luxury cars like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, clinching discounts totaling Rs 21 crore, while showcasing the community’s formidable purchasing power.
The unique deals
was organised under an initiative by the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO), which has 65,000 members from across India.
JITO is a non-profit community organization. Its vice president Himanshu Shah said on Saturday that these 186 luxury cars, each priced between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.3 crore, were delivered to their owners across India between January and June this year. JITO’s nationwide effort helped members save Rs 21 crore in discounts.
The organisation acted only as a facilitator and did not profit from the deal. Most of the cars were bought by Jains from Gujarat, Shah added.
Nitin Jain, who led the initiative, emphasised that the idea started when some JITO members suggested using the community’s buying power to get heavy discounts from carmakers.
Since buying power is a key strength of Jains, they contacted the brands directly to ensure higher discounts. The carmakers saw a win-win situation and offered discounts as this deal eliminated their marketing costs, Nitin said.
The buying spree began with a few community members purchasing cars, soon followed by other JITO members. Altogether, 186 vehicles were bought, resulting in savings of Rs 21 crore. On average, each member saved between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 17 lakh, enough, Nitin joked, to buy an additional car for a family member.
JITO has now launched a new initiative named ‘Utsav’, making similar arrangements with major brands in jewelry, consumer durables, and electronics.
(With inputs from PTI)