Luxury car sales could breach 50,000 units mark for first time ever in 2024: Audi India head

Luxury car sales in India could cross the milestone of 50,000 units for the first time in a year in 2024 amid growing demand for such models, according to Audi India head Balbir Singh Dhillon. The overall domestic luxury car segment grew by 28 per cent annually last year to record sales volume of around 48,500 units.

Luxury car volumes in India currently account for less than 2 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle sales annually and the sector has been more or less at the same level for the past decade.

"Even if the sales grow by around 10 per cent and we do not face issues like disruptions like issues with global supply chain, we (industry) could cross the 50,000 volume mark in a year for the first time ever in 2024," Dhillon told PTI in an interaction. Audi reported an 89 per cent growth in retail sales in India at 7,931 units last year as compared to a total of 4,187 units in 2022.

Similarly, Mercedes-Benz India recorded its best-ever year in its history in India with sales of 17,408 units, registering a growth of 10 per cent over 15,822 units in 2022. BMW India sold a total of 14,172 units across BMW and MINI brands last year.

When asked when the industry volume could touch 1 lakh-unit mark annually, Dhillon said: "This year if we cross the 50,000 unit mark and the growth continues to be double digit in the coming years then we could see it happening." He noted that the industry growth may moderate a bit this year as compared to 28 per cent recorded in 2023 over 2022.

"This year we anticipate the industry to grow as well but not in high double digit, maybe lower double digit," Dhillion said, adding that the industry faced supply chain challenges hampering sales in the January-March quarter.

On Audi's focus areas for the current year, Dhillon stated that the automaker would like to push sales as it now has a very strong product portfolio in the country.

"That is the first area and we are also looking to expand the sales infra of our pre-owned car business vertical. Last year we had 25 showrooms and by the end of this year we aim to take that figure to 30 outlets," he noted. Besides, customer centricity and sustainable business is another focus area for the company this year, Dhillon said.