Page 2 - Luxury Carmakers

Red Sea crisis disrupts Audi India's supply chain, firm eyes recovery soon

The situation in the Red Sea is creating supply chain issues for German luxury carmaker Audi, impacting car deliveries to customers in India in the first quarter but recovery is expected in the coming months, according to a senior company official. With electrification on its primary agenda, the company is also evaluating the possibility of assembling electric cars in India, Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI. "We are also challenged from time to time by various factors. Very recently because of the Red Sea situation there is a supply chain constraint that we're facing in the quarter one of 2024. It is challenging for us in the first quarter but we expect to recover in the coming months," he said. Dhillon was responding to a query on outlook and challenges in 2024. Deliveries to customers for certain models at present have been delayed by a few weeks, he noted. Container vessels have been facing attacks in the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes in the world

Bullish on India; luxury car penetration expected to remain low: Audi

German auto maker Audi is bullish on India but believes that till the time high taxes rationalise to a lower level, penetration of luxury cars in the country will continue to remain low compared to South East Asian countries, according to a senior company official. Audi expects growth of the luxury car market in India to moderate to low double digits in 2024 compared to around 25 per cent in 2023. "The overall car industry is growing, as well as the luxury segment is growing. Last year was one of the biggest numbers that the industry could achieve, which is also in line with the overall growth of the country," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI. He further said, "(India's) GDP is growing, all the parameters that you see for the growth of automotive industry is showing an upward direction. So we believe we are in the right space at a good time and it's time for India and we will continue to grow as well." Dhillon was responding to a query on how Audi is looking at India a

Porsche India posts record best retail sales at 914 units in 2023

Luxury sports car maker Porsche India on Tuesday reported its best retail sales with 914 units in 2023, a growth of 17 per cent over the previous year. The company also fulfilled its commitment of an electric future by recording the highest number of 113 Taycan deliveries to date, Porsche India said in a statement. Besides, a record 65 units of the iconic 911 model were delivered in the same period, it added. Porsche India Brand Director, Manolito Vujicic said,"2023 was another strong year for Porsche India where sales of every model played a significant factor in our encouraging result." He further said it sets a good benchmark for 2024 which will see several new products being launched, as well as further expansion to the retail network. New showrooms will be opened in Pune and Hyderabad in the first half of the year as part of a continuing network expansion, the company added.

BMW India posts record sales of luxury cars, motorcycle at 22,940 units

German automotive group BMW on Thursday reported record sales of its luxury cars and motorcycles in India at 22,940 units in 2023. The automaker sold a total of 14,172 units across BMW and MINI brands last year. It also retailed 8,768 units of motorcycle (BMW Motorrad) in 2023. The company's sales rose by 19 per cent last year as compared to 19,263 units in 2022. "2023 has been a record-breaking milestone year for BMW Group India. All three brands 'BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad' have delivered their highest-ever sales," BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah told reporters here. He noted that the company has successfully retained its leadership in the electric luxury car segment for the second consecutive year. "We continue to set the pace in the Indian electric luxury vehicle market with the most diverse and innovative product range, designed to cater to diverse customer needs," Pahwa said. The BMW iX is the highest-selling luxury electric vehicle in India, he stated. On the sales

Luxury carmaker Lamborghini's Revuelto sold out in India, globally for 2026

The strong demand for Revuelto is being driven by a growing number of new customers, including a 20 per cent increase in first-time buyers in India

Driving the change: Luxury car buyer is getting younger in India

Around 59 per cent of BMW buyers (in the luxury class) are aged between 31 and 45 years, and 35 per cent of its buyers are existing customers

BMW posts record car sales at 9,580 units in India in Jan-Sep period

German luxury vehicle maker BMW Group on Friday reported a 10 per cent rise in total car sales at 9,580 units in India in the first nine months of 2023, driving towards another record sales in the year. The group's three brands -- BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad (two-wheeler) recorded the best-ever January-September period sales in the country, BMW Group India said. The BMW brand clocked 8,998 units in the first nine months of the year, up 10 per cent from the year-ago period, while the MINI brand posted 582 units, also at a growth of 10 per cent. The group's premium motorcycle brand BMW Motorrad registered sales of 6,778 units in the January-September period, rising 26 per cent from the same period a year ago. "After the first half results, which was the best ever first half in our history, quarter three has been even more promising because we knew that we did all the launches in the first quarter of 2023 and all the suppliers ramp up started from the second half of this year...we have

Rolling in luxury: Top-end carmakers spin wheels of bespoke experience

From drifting and slaloming on sheets of ice to bending laws of motorsport physics, auto majors curate thrills beyond the road

Audi India reports 88% growth in sale, beats 2022 sales in first 9 months

The third quarter (July-September) was particularly strong for the company, contributing 37 per cent of the total sales for the year

Mercedes on track to continue record sales in 2023 amid surging demand

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz expects 2023 to turn out to be its best year in terms of sales in India as the demand for high-end cars continues to grow post the Covid pandemic, according to a top company official. The carmaker, which sold 15,822 units in the Indian market in 2022, its highest ever in the country so far, anticipates the overall luxury car segment to post its best ever performance this calendar year. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said the company reported a 13 per cent year-on-year growth in its sales at 8,528 units in India in the first half of 2023, its best-ever half-yearly sales in the country. "We are now coming into the third quarter of this year, and we feel the trend should continue which should mean that we should be able to end this year on a record high once again," he noted. Iyer said the company expects double digit sales growth this year even as multiple challenges exist in the market. "There is a lot of

Carmakers Mercedes, Lexus, Audi expect bumper sales in festive period

Luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi expect sales momentum to continue in the ongoing festive season with demand remaining robust for high-end cars. With offtake remaining strong, the festive season push could even see the luxury car segment posting its highest ever volumes in a year in 2023. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer noted that the festive season looks very promising as compared with last year. "This year the festive season is spread across four months and we are optimistic as we started on a very positive note, from Onam onwards," he stated. With a strong demand primarily driven by recent launches and buoyant customer sentiment, Mercedes-Benz expects the growth momentum to continue, Iyer said. Lexus India President Naveen Soni said the luxury car market continues to grow in the country. "This year, the demand for high-end cars has brought cheer to the industry. Luxury cars, as a market segment, are growing at

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo revs up with EVs, eyes record sales in 2023

Earlier, its peak sales was in 2018, when it sold 2,600 cars

Audi India begins bookings for new Q8 e-tron, Q8 Sportback e-tron

German luxury carmaker Audi on Thursday said it has commenced bookings for the new Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron in India. The newest addition to the electric range, the Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron feature a new design language, features, increased battery capacity, driving range and improved driving dynamics. Available in two body types -- SUV and Sportback, the model comes with a range of up to 600kms on a single charge. "We are just a few days away from the launch of the Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron our newest electric vehicles. These cars were launched globally only a few months ago and we could not be more excited to bring these to India within the same global cycle," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon said in a statement. The company is bringing the very best for customers -- a new design, increased battery capacity, enhanced range that is best-in-segment and a lot more features, he added. The new Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron can be booked with an init

Local assembly of EVs in India just a matter of time: BMW official

German luxury carmaker BMW will locally produce its electric vehicles in India, and it is just a matter of time as the company's vehicles continue to gain traction in the market, according to a senior company official. BMW, which saw 9 per cent of its sales in India coming from EVs in the first half of 2023, expects to reach up to 25 per cent by 2025. "As the volumes grow, as we have done with every other product, we will localise them (EVS), and we will produce them (locally)," BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah told PTI in an interview. The localisation of EVs in India has two aspects, "one is the volume here, and the other one is the technology", he noted. "It is just a matter of time. There has to be some inertia of the volumes and stability. We're seeing good signs now. It's still early days...We have delivered only 500 cars across four models in the first six months, that is still small from that perspective, but it is clearly growing fast," Pawah said. He was responding

Volkswagen's efforts to boost valuation stifled by lack of succession plan

The company plans to run a series of capital market days in coming months for each of its brands, which it hopes will boost a valuation in freefall since mid-2021

Luxury car sales up 38% YoY in June, more growth than overall vehicle sales

Going by the current trend, luxury car sales will cross the 40,000 mark taking over the pre-pandemic peak achieved in 2018

Mercedes-Benz adds OpenAI's ChatGPT to voice control of its vehicles

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has expanded the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and added OpenAI's ChatGPT into the voice control of its vehicles as the next step

Mercedes-Benz unveils electric SUV EQB 350 in India with some modifications

While the EQB 350 comes with significant performance enhancements, it retains the same 66.5 kWh battery pack similar to its predecessor

BMW launches its 2023 Z4 Roadster at Rs 89.30 lakh for Indian market

BMW will offer the Z4 in its M Performance trim, M40i. The car comes with a standard two-year warranty with unlimited kilometres

Jaguar Land Rover raises EV drive bill to £15 bn to catch up with peers

Jefferies, in a report this month, noted that JLR had been focusing on improving profit and cash flow with an emphasis on selling higher-margin SUVs