 "Arya estimated that around 500,000 luxury cars would be running on Indian roads now, an approximate cumulative total of cars sold in the past 15 years.")
Indians are opting for more premium cars, and in 2024, the sales of pre-owned luxury cars beat those of new ones. According to industry estimates, around 80,000 pre-owned luxury cars were sold in the country last calendar year, surpassing the 50,000 new cars sold — the highest ever.
The overall Indian automotive market is moving towards premiumisation, a trend evident from the rising share of utility vehicles (UVs). In 2024–25, the share of UVs (including sport utility vehicles or SUVs as well as multi-utility vehicles) in total passenger vehicle (PV) sales rose to 65 per cent, up from 60 per cent a year ago. SUVs alone now account for over 50 per cent of the PV market.
BMW Group India President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vikram Pawah says the used-luxury segment is seeing very strong interest from young, successful people. “The average age of buyers has come down to 35-40 years, and these young achievers have a dynamic and active lifestyle and choose cars that match their personality.”
BMW Premium Selection — the group’s pre-owned premium car business in India — saw a 47 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024. Pawah highlights that post-pandemic, they have seen a “sea change” in customer perspective towards luxury pre-owned cars, driven by higher aspirations. “Compared to 2019, BMW Premium Selection has seen an over 146 per cent uptick,” he said.
Used-car dealers highlighted that in 2024, when new luxury car sales peaked at over 50,000, the pre-owned luxury car market also burgeoned to 80,000 units.
Himanshu Arya, founder and CEO of Luxury Cart, who runs a pre-owned luxury car business out of the National Capital Region (NCR), said, “In 2024, 80,000 pre-owned luxury cars were sold — the highest so far. At the moment, the new-to-old luxury car sales ratio in India is 1:1.6, which is far lower than in several western markets where the ratio is as high as 1:3, meaning that for every new car sold, three pre-owned cars are sold.”
Arya estimated that around 500,000 luxury cars would be running on Indian roads now, an approximate cumulative total of cars sold in the past 15 years.
The rise of the middle class and its growing disposable income, along with aspirations, are the factors behind this rise in demand. People are also changing cars faster, bringing more inventory into the pre-owned car market.
“Interestingly, the average age at which pre-owned luxury cars are sold has also come down in the past few years. Earlier, the average car age was five to six years, whereas today, buyers prefer younger cars that are just two to three years old,” Pawah said, adding that models like the 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, and X1 are popular among such buyers.
Arya says that selling a BMW X1 to someone who already owns a ₹25–30 lakh SUV is “extremely easy”. The average selling price of pre-owned luxury cars was ₹41–42 lakh in 2024, compared to ₹81 lakh for new luxury cars, he said.
BMW’s German peers, Mercedes-Benz India and Audi Indi,a have also seen strong growth in pre-owned car sales in 2024.
Santosh Iyer, managing director (MD) and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, told Business Standard that pre-owned cars are a function of new car sales. “Mercedes-Benz pre-owned cars have low availability, resulting in very high demand in the market. The certified car business has hence grown strongly by 25 per cent in 2024,” Iyer said.
Volvo Car India, which piloted its pre-owned luxury car business in 2023, saw strong sales volumes in 2024. Jyoti Malhotra, MD, Volvo Car India, said the strong sales volumes considerably outpaced their initial projections.
Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi India, also underlined that pre-owned cars have become a “strong pillar of growth” for them. “In the first quarter of 2025, our Audi Approved:plus business grew by 23 per cent, in addition to the 32 per cent growth we saw in 2024,” he said, adding that this is driven by aspirational buyers entering the luxury segment — particularly in metro cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru — as well as rising demand from emerging Tier-II cities.
BMW says it sees an almost 50:50 split between metros and Tier-II and Tier-III cities when it comes to demand for pre-owned luxury cars. “In cities like Jaipur, Kochi, Chandigarh, and Lucknow, more and more people are opening up to owning pre-owned luxury vehicles,” Pawah said.
First-time luxury buyers are growing rapidly, too. Iyer says, “It’s particularly encouraging to witness a surge in interest from first-time luxury car buyers in emerging markets for certified cars, though strong key metros continue to remain major growth drivers.”
NCR continues to drive demand, followed by Maharashtra, according to Malhotra. He adds that buyers in this segment are increasingly sophisticated, valuing not only the prestige of the brand but also the transparency and reliability offered by certified pre-owned programmes and digital marketplaces.
Used luxury car dealers point out that certified programmes, easy financing options, and affordable maintenance offers have contributed to overall volumes.
Two pre-owned luxury car dealers from Mumbai said that several dealers offer lucrative maintenance packages of ₹1 lakh for three years or 45,000 kilometres. “When people see that maintaining the car is almost similar to a mass-market brand, their hesitance goes away,” said one dealer.
Another said that residual value guarantees are another factor. “Typically, 10–12 per cent annual depreciation is factored in, and if one buys a car for ₹50 lakh now, they can fetch around ₹30 lakh after three years,” said the owner of a dealership.
