Ahmedabad: In a striking display of collective purchasing power, the Jain community has acquired 186 high-end vehicles, including models from BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, saving a staggering ₹21 crore through a coordinated, pan-India initiative.

The deal, described as a “one-of-its-kind” arrangement, was facilitated by the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO), a not-for-profit body representing over 65,000 members across India. The initiative, which ran between January and June this year, saw cars priced between ₹60 lakh and ₹1.3 crore delivered to new owners nationwide.

Himanshu Shah, Vice President of JITO, confirmed the development to PTI, emphasising that the organisation acted purely as a facilitator and derived no financial benefit from the transactions.

Shah added that the majority of purchases were made by members based in Gujarat. “JITO’s nationwide drive helped our members save ₹21 crore in the form of discounts.”

The idea was conceived by JITO member Nitin Jain, who suggested leveraging the community’s considerable spending power to negotiate directly with premium automobile manufacturers.

“Since buying power is one of the key strengths of Jains, we came up with the idea of directly contacting the brands to ensure hgher discounts pn purchases our members make,” Jain explained. “The carmakers also saw a win-win situation and offered us discounts as this deal eliminated their marketing costs,” he added.

According to Jain, the initiative gained momentum organically, after a few members initially made purchases. As word of the discounts spread, more joined in. In total, 186 cars were bought, with individual savings ranging from ₹8 lakh to ₹17 lakh, which in some cases, was enough to buy a second car for a family member.

Riding on the success of the luxury car deal, JITO has now launched a new initiative, titled ‘Utsav’, which aims to secure similar group deals in sectors such as jewellery, consumer durables, and electronics.

The initiative has been hailed as an innovative example of community-led economic collaboration, showcasing how collective bargaining can yield significant financial benefits for consumers.

PTI