Luxury carmakers rev up in India, plan over 50 new models after Covid pain

With over 50 new launches this year, super-premium marques are taking a calculated bet on the Indian market that touched a decadal low in 2020

After touching a decadal low in 2020, luxury carmakers in India are back with a vengeance. The top three firms — Mercedes-Benz India, BMW India and Audi India that account for the lion’s share of the segment — have lined up over 50 new model launches as they seek to recoup previous years’ loss in volumes. 

Thanks to the pandemic, sales of super-premium models (those priced over Rs 30 lakh) in 2020 were almost pushed back to 2010 levels (see table). The year-on-year decline, too, was a whopping 40 per cent. 

Even as the recovery in the Covid-19 pandemic remains