Super Car Club Garage (SCCG), a car restoration service provider invested by Gautam Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Raymond, is in talks with the Central Government for restoration. . The company is trying to get a license from the government to import foreign vehicles, refurbish them and then export them. Currently, Indian regulations allow import of only cars manufactured before 1950, which limits restoration work on international vehicles.
The proposed license requires coordination with various government agencies, including Customs, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the Finance Ministry. The license aims to establish India as a global hub for car restoration with greater quality and cost-effectiveness. India has the advantage of competitive labor costs as well as skilled labour. SCCG claimed that labor costs in India are much lower than in countries like Britain, where restoration can cost more than £100 to £200 per hour.
Gautam Singhania said, ‘Just as the textile industry moved from high labor cost areas to low labor cost markets like India, we believe car restoration can also become a similar market. “With the necessary permits in place, we can attract international restoration projects to India by taking advantage of the lowest labor costs.” SCCG is expected to get the necessary permissions. The first phase of approvals has been successful and the company is now focusing on the government’s specific requirements for final licensing.