Himanshu Arya, Founder and CEO of Luxury Cart, shares his insights on building credibility and reshaping India’s pre-owned luxury car market. What began as a personal challenge in finding a reliable source for his first luxury vehicle has since evolved into a premium platform that blends trust, transparency, and tailored experiences. In this conversation, Arya reflects on how the mindset of Indian luxury buyers has matured, the strategies that helped Luxury Cart stand apart in an unorganised industry, and how exclusivity, service, and consumer insight continue to fuel the brand’s growth journey.
What sparked the idea for Luxury Cart and how did you identify the opportunity in India’s pre-owned luxury car segment?
The idea came from my personal experience. When I was trying to buy my first pre-owned luxury car, there was not one single player in the market that I could rely on. While India is a rapidly growing market where new car sales almost touch 50,000 units a year, the pre-owned car segment is even larger than that. So, the concept was developed to establish an organised base in this space that helped us excel in the pre-owned luxury car market and redefined the word luxury itself. The thought was not just to make it a buying and selling destination, but to offer a 360-degree experience across services, car care, service packages, extended warranties, insurance renewals and more features that were covered the service offerings while providing a premium vibe.
Luxury buyers are known to be highly discerning. How would you describe the evolving mindset of the Indian luxury car customer today?
Luxury car buyers are very logical and practical in this era. People are keen to consume knowledge on automobiles providing them insights on price points and the right value of a vehicle. The moment buyers find a credible source that provides value, they respect and trust it. Luxury car customers have evolved and are well researched. They are well prepared before entering the showroom and know what they are looking for. This is because the mindset today is much more open towards the pre-owned luxury car segment. There is no taboo around buying a pre-owned car anymore, it is considered rather practical to choose this option.
Building trust in the pre-owned luxury market is no small feat. What were the biggest credibility challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
The pre-owned Luxury car market is mainly run by unorganised players, ergo, getting a reliable source, and right quality cars are the biggest obstacles. This is also the reason why this space has immense potential for organised experts to establish themselves. We built our credibility with strict choices. Our rules are clear; we never buy accidental cars, and we always look for cars with a clean service history. Apart from providing top-notch quality, we also offer a 15-day money-back guarantee and a six-month warranty on our cars. These measures are imperative to demonstrate credibility and set us apart from the rest. Buyers respect this and start trusting the resource.
Luxury Cart offers both exclusivity and scale along with services like warranties, buyback and financing. How do you maintain the premium experience while growing volume?
We emphasise the ‘relationship manager’ concept to maintain the premium experience. Even after people buy a car, there is a dedicated relationship manager appointed for them as a single point of contact. Whether it is for insurance renewals, warranties, claims, financing or buyback, they do not need to knock multiple doors for assistance to resolve queries. Since this landscape is still expanding, the volume of sales is not a big challenge at the moment, making it manageable to maintain the experience.
From Gen Z to high net worth individuals who are really driving the demand for pre-owned luxury cars today and how have their expectations changed?
The high-net-worth individuals are obviously at the top of the funnel, and they are driving high demand for pre-owned luxury cars. However, Gen Z plays an important role as influencers in family decisions. Gen Z is practical and has an open mindset towards value and keeps high expectations. The decision makers, who are usually HNIs, pay attention to the quality of cars. It is an amalgamation of Gen Z’s influence and HNI’s decision-making that drives the market.
What is one consumer insight that completely shifted your thinking while shaping Luxury Cart’s experience or service model?
The real requirement in buying a pre-owned luxury car lies in offering the right and truly personal experience. For customers, it is never just about the price tag, it is about the overall journey, from the first interaction to the moment they drive the car home. Every detail matters, whether it’s transparency, trust, or the way they are treated during the process. In fact, even someone selling economy cars would struggle to close a deal if the customer does not feel valued and respected. This highlights how experience is the true differentiator in this industry.
