In a first for any big event in India, luxury rental vehicles are being brought from outside, such as Nepal and the UAE, to meet the demand for the G20 Summit.
That’s not all. The requests for what amenities should be in these cars are highly specific, too, down to the brand of tissues the vehicles must have.
KTC India, the country’s oldest car rental company founded in 1943, got 25 Toyota Commuter vans from Nepal last Saturday. Its next task is to fly in a luxury van from Dubai.
“Over 1,050 luxury vehicles are needed for the event and we are meeting 63% of that demand. Vehicles have been brought not just from other Indian cities, but even Nepal. We are trying to fly in a left-hand drive luxury van from Dubai with an air cargo bill of INR 8 lakh for the van’s return Dubai-Delhi trip,” KTC MD Gurudev Ahluwalia told TOI. “The vehicles from Nepal were brought on a three-month permit.”
TOI had last month reported that the demand for luxury vehicles from embassies and the government was so high that rental companies had scoured Udaipur, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Mumbai for vehicles. As the drivers coming from outside are not familiar with Delhi’s routes, people who know the routes will accompany them.
The vehicles to be used by top dignitaries have been secured. The additional cars are for delegates who will visit various areas in Delhi. “It is difficult to look at Google Maps while driving a big vehicle. So, we have hired interns to accompany the drivers. Background checks have been done on them,” Ahluwalia said.
The instructions on what the cars should have are specific, such as how much perfume must be sprayed inside, the brand of tissues to be used, the requirement of translators with delegates, ice cubes in cars and first-aid boxes stocked with items of specific brands, another leading car rental player said. “Organisers of big fat Indian weddings worry about upset relatives. There are specific instructions from embassies and the government to ensure that our staff do nothing to even remotely offend the dignitaries,” the owner said.
“We have decades of experience in state visits. The first was of US President Dwight D Eisenhower’s visit to Delhi in December 1959. My grandfather, Deshraj Singh, was referred to as ‘Mr DLZ’ (Delhi number plate for luxury rental cars in earlier decades),” Ahluwalia said.
