RTO registers hundreds of Skoda, Honda City and Qualis every month along with the occasional Mercedes

From bicycle city to two-wheeler city to a four-wheeler city, Pune's transition is complete.The city is now poised for another chapter in the automobile arena, with an increasing number of people buying premium and luxury cars, if the registration of such cars at the Regional Transport Office in Vishrantwadi is anything to go by.

Consider this. In 2000-01, only 15 premium cars — those with leather seats, beige colour interiors, music players and several safety features— were registered with the Pune RTO. In 2003-04, an additional 307 such cars were added. The numbers have gone up to 1,164 cars till date, this year.

Among the hundreds of Skoda, Qualis and Honda City, there are four sports cars, two Rolls Royce and three Maybachs. The statistics department of the RTO says the registration figure of Mercedes is comparatively lesser than Honda Cities and Skodas. Statistical assistant Kailash Hire said around 40 Hondas and Skodas are registered with the Pune RTO every month. “ The registration of Mercedes has not increased over the years. It is not more than 2 a month,'' he said.

Market watchers attribute this trend to the growth rate of over 12 per cent in the automobile sector in the last two years, the expanding IT and BPO sectors and the banking sector offering attractive loans. The boom has resulted in a large chunk of revenue being pumped in the medium and large-scale industries.

According to the statistics in the Pune City Development Plan, the registered medium scale units increased from 99 in 1999-2000 to 445 in 2004-05. On the other hand, the capital pumped in the medium and large-scale units increased from Rs 5 crore in 2000-01 to Rs 247.07 crore in 2004-05. The number of people employed in these units too increased from 185 in 2000-01 to 3,584 in 2004-05.

The National Accounts Statistics mentioned in Pune's City Development Plan says the city's per capita income has increased from Rs 41,111 in 2002-03 to Rs 46,313 in 2003-04. The rise in per capita income has pumped up the purchasing power of Puneites.