The German trio – Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi – is having an intense battle in India. While the luxury car segment is not really big (20,000 units a year) yet in India, the three automakers are trying their level best to claim the number 1 position. India is regarded “the next China” , nobody wants to get caught napping. What this has resulted in, is an onslaught of vehicles. All three automaker don’t reveal segment wise sales, but are quick to claim that their cars outsold the others. That said, the German automakers will soon feel the heat from Volvo and Jaguar, which are slowly but surely building inroads in the segment.
While Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed a 13-year monopoly in the Indian market, BMW displaced it within two years of launch. Mercedes entered the Indian market in 1994 and started to sell the E-Class (W124). The C-Class and S-Class were launched in the 2000s. BMW easily displaced Mercedes by bringing its entire line-up of cars, prompting Mercedes to follow suit with the M, G, GL, R, SL class and AMG range of cars. Audientered in 2007, but wasn’t as aggressive as BMW.
When BMW launched the X1, it saw a drastic boost in sales. Audi was slowly but steadily getting a grip on the market and recently overtook Mercedes for number 2 position. The Q3 has worked wonders for Audi, and was sold out within a week of launch. Now Mercedes is languishing at the number 3 spot and is trying to revive sales with the launch of the B-Class. In the first quarter, Mercedes sold just 1,257 units, while Audi sold 1,908 and BMW maintained its leadership with sales of 2,088. Audi is on the heels of BMW, but BMW has the new 3-Series (F30), X1 facelift and 7-Series facelift lined up for launch in the coming months.
Faisal Ali Khan is the owner/operator of MotorBeam.com, a website covering the auto industry of India.
This seems to correlate what I’ve noticed in India.
There are no BMWs before the E46 range. The only luxury car that you see from the ’90s is Mercedes. You can even see Mercs from older that were imported.
The E90 is very popular there, especially in 320d form. There are a few C-classes and 520ds, but the main luxury car you see is the E90. Very few Audis, I recall seeing more Porsches than Audis. Don’t see why you’d want a Porsche in India though…
Nice observation. However the F10 is also very popular on Indian roads. Audi is slowly making its way. You will most likely see the Q7 and Q5.
It was over 15 years ago I was in India and I didn’t find it to be a very friendly place for cars. Too much traffic in town and sub-par roads in the country. Not to mention slow moving animals and vehicles of all types. Also I’d be embarrassed by driving a fancy car given the poverty I saw.
The ones with cash in India don’t come across as being embarrassed.
Worked with one guy who was a consultant. His dad was a big shot professor and he grew up with servants. The old man even had a driver. So,he went to university, got a white collar job and back in India he has also has servants. A guy to do this, and guy to do that, woman to cook and clean. For him it was natural to have what he had and for others not to.
India is now on the F1 schedule and there are more “haves” every day that want to spend. F1 goes where the money is, and right now India has money.
> and right now India has money
Yep. 1,3 billion people. 20k luxury cars annually. Lots of money. Piles of cash are higher than piles of trash around Mumbai slums.
What India REALLY has is devaluation of human life as its core business model.
I also consider comparisons with China “inadequate” at best.
True true. The infrastructure growth is far from impressive. Automakers cry when sales drop, but they never think where the cars are going? Where are the roads? Are sales increase in tangent with infrastructure improvement? Hell no!
3 Manufacturers making big investments in dealerships, marketing, parts warehousing, etc. All the sell 20,000 cars.
20,000 cars combined. So each one sells around 5000 units a year, with the rest going to JLR and Volvo. Lexus and Infiniti are not on sale in India yet. No one manufactures, all go the CBU route, while the entry models are brought in as CKD.
So what happens three years later, when the Indian rich want to trade in their Benz/Beemer/Audi/Volvo? Will their carefully maintained and chauffeur-driven car, having successfully avoided street cows and potholes deep enough to swallow a man, be worth anything?
I have seen in other Asian countries that used European cars are a hard sell. But buyers line up for a 1980s Corolla, even if it is hand-painted with house paint and the tires are bald.