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Coming on the back of a stellar performance in CY2023, BMW India on Thursday announced it will roll out 19 models - cars and two-wheelers - in the Indian market in CY2024. While the previous year was a personal best for the German brand in the country, it is now looking to bettering its performance on the back of a renewed product offensive and with positive sentiments towards the luxury car market overall adding wind to its proverbial sails.
While BMW India has not given a details of every new model that will come out in the market this year, the company has confirmed that of the total of 19, 13 will be luxury cars while the remaining will be bikes from the BMW Motorrad sub-brand. The launches will include models like the new 5 Series, new X3, new MINI Countryman and R13 100 GS.
Speaking to members of the press, Vikram Pawah - BMW Group India President, explained that his company has an order bank of 1,500 for cars and another 1,500 for two-wheelers. “We are in a position of strength and are looking to build on numbers that we achieved in 2023," he said. When asked about sentiments towards luxury car purchases in a year that will also see the Lok Sabha elections take place, Pawah said he does not see any deviations in buying sentiments. “From what we have observed in the last quarter, the mood in the market remains positive and we don't see any indications of it changing."
BMW is also betting big on its electric portfolio. In 2023, the company sold 1,474 electric models, a staggering 325 per cent increase from figures in the preceding year. This number combines sales by BMW as well as MINI. Pawah expects the surge to continue because of cost dynamics of driving and maintaining an EV, as well as increasing awareness around environmental benefits. “If you don't do much of intra-city travel, the benefits of an EV are numerous. Our iX electric SUV model has been enormously popular with customers who may also be from rival brands or non-luxury-car segment. Then there is the iX1 that we launched last year and it too has fared very well."