Yohan Poonawalla

Some Lesser Known Facts About Yohan Poonawalla

• Yohan is the Chairman of Poonawalla Engineering Group and El-O- Matic India Pvt Ltd. He is also a shareholder in Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd and Chairman of Poonawalla Financials Pvt Ltd.

• Yohan’s first car was a 1931 Chevrolet. It was gifted to him in the early 1990s.

• Yohan likes to acquire luxury and vintage cars which hold historical prominence and were previously owned by the Nawabs, the Pope, Maharajas, and other historical figures.

  

• The Poonawalla family also owns a stud farm business which was started by Yohan’s grandfather Soli A. Poonawalla in 1946.

• Yohan Poonawalla’s name is popular among the horse-racing community. He is also the Director of the Poonawalla Stud Farms and Poonawalla Racing and Breeding.

• Yohan is the first in his family to enter the hospitality and real estate businesses.

• Yohan’s favourite car in his car collection is the Rolls-Royce Phantom 3, a 1937 model with a V12 engine.

• Yohan is a member of the National Horse Breeding Society of India, OCEANTEX, and a permanent member of the National Advisory Board, Chemtech.

• Despite being involved in the horse business, Yohan does not allow his children to do horse riding, citing it as a dangerous sport.

• Yohan owns a 350-acre stud farm in Pune. It is one of Asia’s leading Stud Farms and has won five Champion Breeders Awards in the seven years since the award was introduced.

  

• Yohan’s family has kept four miniature Shetland ponies named Kensington (male), and Mimi, Minx and Chelsea (female) at their Pune residence.

  

• Yohan’s Lamborghini Gallardo SE is a special edition car of which only 250 were made in the world out of which his was 238.

  

• Yohan has showcased the rich heritage of Indian cars at premier events and shows like Salon Privé, Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, RREC Annual Rally & Concours d’Elegance, Sandringham Pageant of Motoring, and 1000 Miglia Experience UAE.

• All the cars owned by Yohaan and his family carry the YZP initials below the registration plate.

  

• In 2023, Yohan’s Maharaja Rolls-Royce won the Trofeo BMW Group Classic award at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

  

• Yohan’s Rolls-Royce 17EX won the Best In Show Award At ‘Valletta Concours’ in Malta in 2024. It was the first time a car owned by an Indian won a Best in Show award on the international level.

  

• Yohan owns 23 Rolls Royce and 8 Bentleys in his garage.

• In 2024, Yohan bought the the car of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, a 2016 Range Rover SDV8 Autobiography LWB in a private deal for 224,850 pounds (approximately Rs 2.25 crore). The car’s registration number is still the same, OU16 XVH, as that used by the Queen.