Luxury Car Sales Surge During Indian Festive Season

Luxury car brands Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW are expecting robust sales during India's festive season. Executives from these companies attribute the anticipated growth to both seasonally boosted consumer interest and strong economic fundamentals. This trend may help these brands achieve record sales volumes for the year.

Luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW are eyeing robust sales during this year's festive period as demand for high-end cars in India continues to escalate.

Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI that the luxury car segment is poised for a record-breaking performance, significantly bolstered by festive season offtakes.

According to Iyer, the festive period generally yields high double-digit sales growth, which balances out the single-digit growth of earlier quarters, thereby achieving an average double-digit growth.

Highlighting the overall industry dynamics, Iyer noted that while the luxury car segment remains a small fraction of the total passenger vehicle market, it's likely to hit record volumes this fiscal year, despite some players facing stagnation or decline.

''We, as a primary market player, expect the luxury car market to exceed 50,000-51,000 cars this year,'' Iyer remarked, despite luxury cars accounting for less than 2% of India's passenger vehicle market.

Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon said the company expects positive buying trends to persist. ''Our best-selling models like the A4, A6, Q3, and the newly launched Q8 continue to drive solid demand,'' Dhillon stated, also expressing optimism about their e-tron range.

BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah added that solid economic fundamentals and rising consumer confidence are boosting sales in the luxury segment. ''Our order bank is robust, and we are working to expedite customer deliveries. We anticipate ending the year on a high note with impressive growth,'' Pawah said.

The festive season, which kicks off with Onam and concludes with Diwali, sees heightened demand, helping luxury carmakers to launch special editions of their models, further driving sales.

(With inputs from agencies.)