For the third time in a row, Mercedes-Benz holds the number one spot in luxury car sales in India.
Last year, the luxury car segment of India went through a lot of ups and downs. Despite showing positive growth as compared to 2016, most luxury automakers will agree that demonetization and GST initially acted as roadblocks in an otherwise smooth journey of the industry’s growth. Surprisingly, luxury car sales in India grew at a rate of 17% as compared to the previous year which provides some much-needed breathing space for automakers.
The sales chart shows Mercedes-Benz enjoying a lead with over 15,000 dispatches during the year. A majority of numbers for the three-pointed star come from the 2017 E-Class, C-Class and the facelifted GLA and CLA. Meanwhile, the BMW Group registered a healthy growth of around 25% as compared to 2016. The Germany-based company has got BMW raking in 9379 units to secure the 2nd rank and MINI contributing 421 units to stand at the 6th spot.
Replicating Tata’s comeback in the mass-market segment, Jaguar Land Rover reported a mammoth growth of over 48% with 3954 units sold in 2017. While a good chunk of its current performance can be attributed to the price corrections during the year, the brand looks at an action-packed year ahead with the upcoming Range Rover Velar and Jaguar E-Pace. The manufacturer secured the fourth spot in the list after the German trio.
Trailing behind BMW securing the third spot is Audi recording a mediocre growth of 1.73% with a total of 7876 units sold in 2017. The buzz surrounding the S5 and A5 range was fast to fade off but the luxury brand anticipates a rise in footfall with the arrival of the 2018 Q5 SUV. Swedish manufacturer Volvo sold 2029 units during the year with a growth of over 28% as compared to 2016. The success was also driven by the XC90 Cross Country launched in mid-2017.
The 2018 XC60 arrived in December 2017 and has the potential to give a push to the brand’s India sales. While automakers are constantly trying to outdo each other to capture the Indian market with new launches, customers preferences are gradually changing and moving out of the comfort zone created by the established German players. Lexus entered the market just at the right time but hasn’t shared the sales numbers as yet.
Luxury Car Sales
– Mercedes-Benz rules the segment with over 15,000 dispatches
– Jaguar Land Rover reports the highest YoY growth of 48.98%
– Audi reports a mediocre 1.73% growth as compared to 2016
– Industry shows a favourable trend with most of the companies registering positive growth
