Slowdown effect: Luxury car sales fall 8%

With the economic slowdown hitting the people's spending power, sales of high-end cars dipped in May by 7.59 per cent, although the overall passenger car segment grew by 2.48 per cent.

According to the data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), sales of the premium and luxury cars went down to 3,360 units in May from 3,636 units in the year-ago period.

In the first two months of the current financial year also, the sales of the high-end cars declined to 7,098 units from 7,149 units in the same period last year, SIAM said.

The market leader in the premium segment Mercedes-Benz registered a decline of 34.18 per cent in May, while its competitor BMW's sales fell by 22.48 per cent last month compared to the year-ago period.

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz sold 181 units of its C, E and S-Class cars in India last month against 275 units in the corresponding month of last year. While sales of its C and S-Class plummeted by 56.02 per cent and 31.58 per cent at 73 units and 39 units, respectively, the sales of E-Class zoomed by 32.69 per cent at 69 units.

Another German carmaker BMW saw its sales in the Indian market falling to 169 units from 218 units in the same month last year. Its entire portfolio of passenger cars, comprising 3, 5, 6 and 7-series sedans, registered steep falls during the month.