Mercedes, Audi see record sales in festive season this year

Luxury carmakers Mercedes and Audi have dispatched record units this festive season as the demand for high-end cars continues to grow in the country. Driven by brisk sales throughout the year, the luxury car industry in India is hopeful of achieving its best-ever performance this year.

In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Santosh Iyer said 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," he noted. Iyer said that the automaker continues to have a positive industry outlook, expecting record sales this year. It however expects supply chain-related disruptions to continue to pose challenges, affecting the production and availability of SUVs, especially the GLC.

"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." 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," he added. Growth was on the back of sustained demand for our best-sellers including the A4, Q3, Q3 Sportback, Q5 and S5 Sportback, Dhillon said.

"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.

This year, the luxury car industry in India will surpass 2018 volumes – and reach the 46,000-47,000 unit mark, Dhillon noted. "As a company, we are looking to end the year with a high double-digit growth," he added.

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," he added.

Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal said India is one of the fastest growing markets globally and has the 3rd largest millionaire population.

The Indian luxury car market was valued at USD 1.06 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach over USD 1.54 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of more than 6.4 per cent during the forecast period 2022-2027, he noted.

"This growth is driven by the evolution of customer taste and preferences and hence the automobile segment is seeing substantial expansion with increasing demand for luxury cars with advanced tech and safety features," Agarwal stated. The growth is further supported by better road infrastructure pan India, cities are being linked by expressways which coupled with high aspirations is driving demand from tier 2's and beyond, he added.

"For Lamborghini itself today more than 25 per cent of sales is from non-metro cities," he said. The 89-day festive period this year between August 17 and November 14 saw overall passenger vehicle retail sales cross the 10 lakh mark.

The 71-day festive season last year had witnessed sales of around 8.10 lakh units.

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