Over 45,000 luxury cars, SUVs sold in FY2024; up 20.5 percent

BMW and Audi registered a double-digit percentage growth during the fiscal.

Published On May 07, 2024 03:30:00 PM

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A global trend that has been reflected in the Indian automotive market over the past three years is the soaring demand for luxury and super-luxury cars and SUVs. At 45,311 units, the cumulative sales of seven luxury carmakers rose 20.5 percent in FY2024, as per JATO Dynamics India.

The demand for luxury SUVs surged 34 percent to 27,489 units. Luxury sedans saw slower growth of 6.5 percent to 17,569 units.

The top three carmakers in the country’s luxury car market are all German; Mercedes-Benz India maintains its lead, but BMW India is hot on its heels. Let’s take a closer look at the companies’ performance.

Also see: SUVs outnumber hatchbacks in 10 bestsellers of FY2024

Mercedes-Benz

Market leader Mercedes-Benz India clocked a 3 percent increase in sales over the previous year at 17,013 units, 56 percent of which were SUVs and the rest were sedans. Moreover, one out of every four vehicles it sold belongs to the top-end segment, which the company categorises as cars with over Rs 1.5 crore price tag.

The company’s sedan portfolio, comprising the A-Class, C-Class, LWB E-Class and S-Class, saw robust sales. The outgoing LWB E-Class remained the highest-selling Mercedes-Benz (3,561 units, up 12.7 percent) in FY2024.

Among its SUVs, the GLE – India’s top-selling luxury SUV in the preceding year – saw the strongest demand at 2,349 units, up 8.2 percent, followed by the GLA (2,213 units) and GLC (1,925 units). The GLS, with 1,529 units, came in fourth but saw a nearly 31 percent drop in sales from a year ago. The G-Class sold 219 units.

Mercedes’ electric SUVs, the EQB and the EQE, sold 311 and 116 units, respectively. However, rival BMW is miles ahead in the segment. Its iX alone sold 738 units, recording a whopping 729 percent growth.

BMW

BMW India retains its second rank with sales of 14,479 units, up 28 percent year-on-year. Sedans outpaced SUVs by contributing 51 percent of the brand’s overall volumes. Yes, BMW is the only one of the top three to sell more sedans than SUVs in FY2024. The 3 Series remains its bestselling sedan with 2,652 units, followed by 6 Series (1,428 units), 2 Series (1,073 units) and 5 Series (1,059 units). In SUVs, the X1 (2,996 units) was the top seller as well as the bestselling midsize luxury SUV in India, followed by the X7 (1,644 units), the X3 (1,089 units) and the iX.

Audi

Audi India recorded a strong 33 percent growth in FY2024 by selling 7,027 units, of which 4,425 were SUVs (up 72 percent) and 2,602 were sedans (down 3.9 percent). While sales of the Q3 soared fourfold to 1,965 units, the Q7 (742 units, up nearly 23 percent) and the Q5 (735 units) sparred to be the next-bestselling Audi SUV. The Q3 Sportback sold 658 units. Among sedans, the A4 recorded a stellar 50 percent growth to 1,521 units; the A6’s numbers fell over 40 percent to 920 units.

Land Rover

Selling 3,061 units to registeran 82 percent growth, Land Rover India climbed up one rank and overtook Volvo Auto India to claim the fourth spot. The Tata Motors-owned SUV maker received a fresh charge thanks to the popularity of the Land Rover Defender, which sold 1,314 units, a 2.5 times increase over the previous year. Indicative of the growing demand for premium models, the Range Rover Velar (556 units) and RR Sport (404 units) were the next most popular models. The flagship Range Rover, the most expensive model in the range, went home to 394 customers. The RR Evoque’s sales rose 13 percent to 190 units. The LR Discovery Sport sold 197 units, up 26 percent, while the Discovery chipped in with six units.

Volvo

Volvo Auto India, back to the fifth position it had in FY2022, sold 2,522 units, up 27 percent year on year. The XC60 SUV was its most sought model (867 units), followed by the XC40 (769 units), the XC90 (449 units) and the C40 (212 units). The only sedan offering in its line-up, the S90, went home to 225 buyers.

Mini

The BMW Group’s Mini brand sold 937 units, up 34 percent. With 695 units, Mini Countryman comprised nearly three-fourths of overall sales.

Jaguar

In seventh place is Jaguar India with sales of 272 units, up 22 percent. The F-Pace SUV with 221 units was its top seller, followed by the I-Pace (31 units) and the F-Type (20 units).

Lexus

Japanese brand Lexus recently completed seven years of operation in India. The carmaker announced a year-on-year growth of 63 percent in FY2024. Lexus said its most popular models in India are the NX350h SUV and the ES300h sedan.

Luxury EVs: BMW leads the way

The luxury vehicle OEMs in India have been pushing the EV envelope in terms of technology and new models. As per retail sales data, a total of 2,870 luxury EVs were sold in FY2024 with BMW India accounting for nearly half of them at 1,421 units, followed by Volvo India (598 units), Mercedes-Benz India (564), Audi India (165) and Porsche (114).

Data Source: JATO Dynamics India

To read the complete FY2024 sales analysis, pick up a copy of Autocar India’s May 2024 issue.

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