Luxury car sales in India could breach 50k units mark in 2024, hopes Audi
Luxury car sales in India could cross the milestone of 50,000 units for the first time ever in 2024, said Audi head Balbir Singh Dhillon in an interaction with PTI. His comment comes at a time when the demand and sales of luxury cars in the country have been growing at a fast pace. The luxury car segment in the Indian passenger vehicle market grew by an impressive 28 per cent in 2023, compared to 2022, with a record sales volume of around 48,500 units.
In 2023, Audi reported an 89 per cent growth in retail sales with 7,931 units, as compared to a total of 4,178 units registered in 2022. Mercedes-Benz, the segment leader recorded its best-ever yearly retail numbers in the country in 2023 with 17,408 units, posting a 10 per cent growth over 15,822 units recorded in 2022. The other German luxury car giant BMW sold a total of 14,172 units in India last year, combining the BMW and Mini models.
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What's fuelling growth of luxury car sales
The luxury carmakers hope the growth momentum in the Indian market will continue further owing to various factors. The aspirational young car buyers are increasingly focusing on luxury cars instead of mundane basic commuters and even mid-level cars. The plethora of advanced technology-aided features available in luxury cars is further fuelling this aspiration. Further propelling the growth in this space are factors like improvement of economic conditions, growth of disposable incomes and launch of a wide range of products. In 2024 as well, these factors will push the demand and sales of luxury cars, hope the carmakers.
What Audi India boss believes
Luxury car sales volumes in India currently account for less than two per cent of the overall annual passenger vehicle sales. Despite the gradual growth in this space, the market share has remained more or less at the same level for the past decade, as the overall passenger vehicle sales volume too grew at a proportional level.
Speaking about the growth opportunity of luxury cars in India in 2024, Dhillon reportedly said that as the sales grew by around 10 per cent and the disruptions in the global supply chain are not that massive, the industry could cross the 50,000 units sales mark for the first time ever in 2024. "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 reportedly said.
He also stated that the industry volume could reach a one lakh annual sales mark in future if the growth in the segment touches double digits. "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," Dhillon said further adding that the industry growth in 2024 may remain at a moderate level as compared to 28 per cent registered in 2023 over 2022. "This year we anticipate the industry to grow as well but not in high double-digit, maybe lower double-digit," he added. The moderate growth projection is due to the supply chain challenges that have been hampering sales in the January-March quarter, he noted.
Audi's plan for growth in India
Speaking on Audi's focus areas for the current year, Dhillon stated that the luxury car manufacturer under Volkswagen Group aims to push sales further 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 that, Audi India is claimed to be focusing on customer-centricity and sustainable business this year.
