Luxury Carmakers Mercedes, Audi Log Record Sales In Festive Season

Supported by the rapid sales seen this year, the luxury car industry in India remained optimistic about seeing a record-best performance this year. 

Luxury automakers Mercedes and Audi witnessed record units dispatched in this festive season credited to the increasing demand for high-end cars in the country. Supported by the rapid sales seen this year, the luxury car industry in India remained optimistic about seeing a record-best performance this year. 

In a conversation with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director, Santosh Iyer, credited this year’s performance to the new portfolio of the company. “The festive season this year from Onam to Diwali has been better than last years', owing to multiple new launches, an attractive portfolio, and also strong customer sentiment. We have seen record deliveries during Dussehra, Dhanteras, and Diwali reflecting customer enthusiasm,” Iyer said. 

The company executive noted that the company is hopeful for a positive outlook, and is estimating record sales this year. The automaker however expects disruptions regarding the supply chain to be challenging, and impact the production and availability of SUVs. “We continue to have a positive industry outlook, expecting record sales this year. However, we forecast supply chain-related disruptions to continue in the coming months as well,” Iyer said. 

Commenting on the performance, Audi India Head, Balbir Singh Dhillon, said, “The company has witnessed an 88 per cent growth with 5,530 units retailed in January-September 2023. We have been operating with one of our highest-order banks in recent times. This festive period marked bigger celebrations for Audi India as we witnessed our highest-ever festive season sales in the last seven years.”

Dhillon credited the growth to consistent demand for the company’s best-sellers like the A4, Q3, Q3 Sportback, Q5, and S5 Sportback. “Delhi and Mumbai continued to lead the demand for our products in the festive season. We also continue to witness good demand from Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad,” he added. 

Dhillon informed that the luxury car industry this year will breach its 2018 volume and touch the 46,000 to 47,000 unit mark. Therefore, the firm is hopeful of ending the year with high double-digit growth. 

BMW Group India President, Vikram Pawah, said, “The company has launched some powerful products – both cars and motorcycles in the festive period.We will keep this momentum going.”

Lamborghini India Head, Sharad Agarwal, noted that India remained among the fastest-growing markets in the world and has the third largest millionaire population globally. In 2021, the Indian luxury car market held a value of $1.06 billion and is projected to cross $1.54 billion by 2027, marking a compounded annual growth rate of over 6.4 per cent during the five year period from 2022-27. 

Agarwal credited this growth to the development of customer taste and preferences and said, “The automobile segment is seeing substantial expansion with increasing demand for luxury cars with advanced tech and safety features.” This boost has further been supported by an improved road infrastructure across the country, with cities being connected by expressways along with increasing aspirations. The Lamborghini executive noted that for the firm, more than 25 per cent of its sales today come from non-metro cities. 

Notably, during the 89-day long festive season this year between August 17 to November 14, overall passenger vehicle retail sales crossed the 10 lakh mark, against 8.10 lakh units sold in the 71-day long festive period last year. 

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