Asia | Wheels and fortune

India is turning into an SUV country

The culture and meaning of cars is changing as the country gets richer

A traffic jam in Bengaluru, India
Photograph: Getty Images
|BANGALORE

GETTING TO BANGALORE, India’s startup capital, is easy: arrive at the gorgeous new garden-themed terminal, collect your bags, and zip down the buttery smooth National Highway 44 into the city. Getting around Bangalore is another matter. It is the most heavily gridlocked city in India, with average speeds during rush hour of 18kph (11mph), according to TomTom, a navigation-technology firm.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Wheels and fortune”

From the November 16th 2024 edition

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