BMW India achieves record car sales in first half of 2023, expects strong growth

BMW Group, the German luxury vehicle manufacturer, reported a remarkable 5 per cent year-on-year growth in car sales in India, with a total of 5,867 units sold in the first half of 2023. The group also witnessed a surge of over 50 per cent in sales of premium motorcycles under the BMW Motorrad brand, reaching 4,667 units during the January-June period.

In the initial six months of the year, BMW sold 5,476 units of its branded vehicles and 391 units of MINI, achieving its highest-ever half-yearly sales in India.

Vikram Pawah, President of BMW Group India, credited the market's growth to new models and said, "The luxury car market is finally growing, which all of us expected, but for us, it is also driven by new models that have given us a lot of growth."

Pawah noted that despite facing supply chain constraints in the first four months of 2023, BMW's growth remained strong. He highlighted the months of May and June as key contributors to the company's growth.

BMX X1 leads car sales in first half

The BMW X1, a newly launched model, accounted for over 20 per cent of total sales, while the sports activity vehicles (SAV) lineup constituted more than 50 per cent of total sales.

Furthermore, BMW's electric vehicle range, including models such as the i7, iX, i4, and MINI SE, has gained significant traction in the market. Pawah emphasised the success of the electric vehicle segment, stating, "We sold over 500 cars in the first half (of 2023), which is 46 per cent more than what we sold in the entire year last year. We are the absolute leaders in the premium electric vehicles segment because we have over 50 per cent market share."

BMW 7 Series sales

The luxury class, which includes models like the 7 Series, i7, X7, and XM, accounted for 20 per cent of total sales, with the segment experiencing growth of over 128 per cent during the same period.

BMW's premium motorcycle business, Motorrad, witnessed significant sales driven by 'Made in India' models such as G 310R, G 310RR, and G 310 GS, contributing nearly 90 per cent to the total sales.

Pawah expressed optimism about the outlook for the remainder of the year, anticipating a record-breaking year if the economy remains stable and supplies normalise. He said, "The demand seems strong, the product line-up is strong, further enhanced by the launch of the new X5, and the response is strong."

(With PTI inputs)