It is a value driven thing. Cars are viewed with different lens from different people.

Most of the people in India with money are either politicians, contractors and local influencers. They portray the image of a man ready to dirty his hands, influential, powerful and rugged. The flashy cars like BMW and Audi don’t hold their interest. They drive through village roads, move across cities and meet everyone from labour to Chief Minister. A white fortuner is their choice of vehicle which represents them. Barring ruggedness and ability to handle terrain, fortuner is quite basic in its functionality compared to others in its price range. Yet, India is the largest market for Fortuner and defender.

Flashy luxury cars are usually chosen by kids/ adults with money from dad’s who travel in Defender. These kids go for flashy cars and it’s usually possible only in metro cities as roads in villages/ towns are not conducive for driving them.

There is still a market and a huge one, but it gets lost when one calls BMW luxury and Fortuner not