Sales volume crosses the 40,000-mark in 2018
Despite strong headwinds the luxury car segment in India grew 3.46% in 2018 and total volumes crossed the 40,000-mark. Except Audi India, all players reported growth.
Luxury car makers sold a total of 40,340 units compared with 38,989 units sold in 2017. While Mercedes-Benz India maintained its market leadership position for four years in a row with a sales of 15,538 units compared with 15,330 units sold last year (1.4% growth), BMW Group reported significant gain by selling 11,105 cars (BMW+Mini) compared with 9,800 cars sold last year, (13% growth). BMW seems to have gained market share and volume at the cost of Audi and other players. BMW 5 series and BMW 6 series contributed strongly to the growth.
Audi India in 2018 sold a total of 6,463 units as compared with 7,876 units sold in 2017, down 18%.
The company said the drop was primarily on account of closure of its single largest dealer in Delhi NCR.
Explaining the drop Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India said, “We faced some unforeseen business challenges during the year, which led to reduced deliveries. However in a difficult year, we managed to consolidate our position in the market while earning a profitable growth for our dealer partners.”
For the industry the year, especially the second half was a challenging one. “The luxury segment was under pressure owing to financial market developments, the changing customer sentiment and other reasons such as change in policies with regard to taxes,” Mr Ansari said.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sold more vehicles in India last year. It sold 4,596 units compared with 3,954 units in 2017, up 16%. The most significant growth was witnessed by Volvo cars. The company sold 2,638 units compared with 2,029 units sold in 2017, up 30%.
So while Mercedes-Benz grew only 1.4% on a large base of over 15000 units, Volvo grew the maximum from a low base.
