[Acharya]

While we are analyzing the sales of luxury cars and comparing it with other developing/developed nations such as China, I would like to add that there are two major factors which hold people back from splurging on luxury cars in India -
First, living simply is part of our ancient values and to certain extent, it exists even today. I personally know at least half a dozen people who must be 100+ Cr in net worth but they drive very simple reliable cars (read Toyotas ) and change cars only at the interval of 8-10 years. If you don't know them, two of these gentleman would appear like school teachers but man, are they loaded!

Second, the road condition and traffic in our country. It would easily break every sane man's heart to put beloved luxury barge on broken, uneven, unscientific roads which are full of uncivilized drivers/riders. Not many people drive on highways everyday, this leaves most of drivers on city roads, driving in any major city in India is nightmare. IMO, not many people would like to take the everyday tension of driving their expensive car in this maddening traffic & it reflects on the Sales numbers.
Somewhere I feel this factor adds to the sale of Fortuners. One of the acquaintance ended up with Fortuner, despite having a budget of 55-60 lakhs in the city of Indore.

I don't see the sale of luxury cars in India ever reaching the heights of Chinese level in foreseeable future but it's not a bad thing in itself!

[rocksterraghu]

Reading through some of these views, I have to say, we are sometimes mistaken.

First, luxury cars are not always bought by the rich and the famous. Some cars are extremely good to drive and make no compromise when it comes to safety. So, enthusiasts who have a good budget go all out and buy one of the luxury brands purely for their reputation and quality of R&D.

While we know that business tycoons, celebrities and the affluent in general do buy these brands, I have personally known people with 20-30 Lakh budget settling for a pre-owned luxury. Some for the badge, some for the pure driving experience. And what is wrong in being an aspiring enthusiast?

Second, we are on an automotive forum discussing the sales figures of luxury brands. Talking about investing in gold or real estate is ridiculous. It would be safe to assume that someone out in the market to buy a 50-lakh rupee (or even 20 lakh for a pre-owned) car has a home and safe place to park the car. The debate about investment alternatives should be confined to social events hosted by banks . We are petrolheads here. The depreciation is obvious. The fun is underrated. Make an aspiring enthusiast floor the pedal of a 530d or a C63s and tell us he does not understand the enjoyment is worth the depreciaiton!

[volkman10]

Mercedes Benz races past BMW globally,

Daimler grows faster with 3.3% growth in H1 2018, and is ahead of BMW Group (+1,8%) by 12k unit

Source:

But in June sales, BMW inches closer to Mercedes,

BMW was the only German big premium to post a sales growth in June. It got very close to #Mercedes, which was affected by a fire at a US supplier, with a significant lower production of SUVs

[volkman10]

Mercedes posts disappointing sales figures in 2018, declines 19% for Q3 2018.

- June to July 2018 quarter, Mercedes Benz India posted sales of 3,808 units

- Jan to Sep 2018 period, Mercedes Benz India posted sales of 11,789 units.

BMW

- BMW group sells 7,915 units during the January to September period

- BMW brand alone, its sales stood at 7,424 units – clocking 9% growth as compared to sales during the same period of 2017


Link

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Mercedes posts disappointing sales figures in 2018, declines 19% for Q3 2018.

Seems like all those random CBU launches aren't hitting the nail where they wanted to. I was talking to someone in a higher office in Shaman recently, and was told they sell about 150 cars a month - most of the A, C, GLA and CLA. I don't see why those sales would decline. I would take that information with a grain of salt, however, as they were trying to sell me on the business and not a car.

[GTO]

Meanwhile, Volvo sells 1896 cars in the same period. Way, way behind the Germans, but probably comparable to Jaguar & much ahead of Lexus.

Source

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by GTO

Meanwhile, Volvo sells 1896 cars in the same period. Way, way behind the Germans, but probably comparable to Jaguar & much ahead of Lexus.

Source

Looking at their 34% growth rate, they'll be well past JLR by next year.

They need to sort out parts issues however. A V90 CC owner was lamenting about busted tyres on his vehicle and Volvo not having any stock of the same. This is not acceptable!

However they did give him a loaner car for now which is not bad.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Volvo sales jump by 30 percent in 2018

Volvo India today announced that it has sold a record 2,638 units in calendar 2018, registering a growth of 30 percent year-on-year over 2,029 units sold in 2017. The Swedish carmaker’s sales were led by the XC60 and the new XC40 SUVs.

Source article -

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...in-2018-411006

[tarik.arora]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Volvo sales jump by 30 percent in 2018

Volvo India today announced that it has sold a record 2,638 units in calendar 2018, registering a growth of 30 percent year-on-year over 2,029 units sold in 2017. The Swedish carmaker’s sales were led by the XC60 and the new XC40 SUVs.

Source article -

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...in-2018-411006

These are great numbers from their perspective. Volvo might still be doing one third of what the Germans are doing but they have started the climb. All thanks to their recent products. Especially the XC40 which is my current love. Their cars are loaded like anything and pricing is also sensible when compared to Lexus.

[GTO]

Growth levels slowed down in 2018. Source & Full Article

[mroutlander]

Originally Posted by tarik.arora

Volvo might still be doing one third of what the Germans are doing but they have started the climb. All thanks to their recent products. Especially the XC40 which is my current love. Their cars are loaded like anything and pricing is also sensible when compared to Lexus.

Volvo always has had some of the best tech and safety equipment but were let down by bland exteriors.

A lot of their recent successes (read sales) can be attributed to their design language that injects the much-needed oomph to their cars (love the V40 and XC40). Once you add the tech underneath to the equation, it becomes an excellent proposition.

They can definitely start eating into the German pie in the coming years and I'm rooting for them.

[GTO]

Jaguar-Land Rover sales numbers for 2018 just in! Must say, that's very good for a brand that had a niche presence till very recently. And they've grown faster than the overall luxury car segment.

Jaguar Land Rover India has announced a growth of 16 percent for the period January to December 2018. With 4596 units sold, Jaguar Land Rover India recorded its highest Calendar Year volume to date. The growth in Jaguar Land Rover sales in India has been driven by models like the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar F-PACE, XE and XF with over half of all sales in 2018 being driven by SUVs.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL) said:

“The auto industry faced strong headwinds in 2018, especially in the second half with tight liquidity conditions, increased upfront insurance costs and increased lending rates. Despite that, the growth of Jaguar Land Rover in India has been very encouraging for us and we continue to focus on strong product launches and an ever improving customer experience in 2019 for the two iconic brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.

The year 2018 saw over ten product actions, chief among them were the launch of the Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Evoque Convertible, Model Year 2018 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, Jaguar F-PACE in 2.0-litre petrol and the 50th anniversary Jaguar XJ50.

Other highlights from 2018 include the launch of Advanced Connectivity Features under the InControl Apps suite called Protect, Remote Premium and Secure Tracker on the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery. Jaguar Land Rover Financial Services, a white label financial services program for wholesale and retail of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles was also introduced for the benefit of customers and retailers, while the iconic Land Rover brand celebrated its 70 years, marking a significant milestone in its history.

[S.MJet]

Performance of luxury segment in the year 2018:

German auto major Mercedes-Benz Wednesday reported 1.4 per cent increase in its sales in India with a record 15,538 units in 2018, retaining its leadership position in the luxury segment for the fourth year in a row. The company had sold 15,330 units in 2017, Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement.

BMW India had posted 13 per cent increase in car sales to 11,105 units in 2018, compared with 9,800 units in the previous year.

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover reported 16.23 per cent increase in its 2018 sales at 4,596 units as against 3,954 units in 2017.

Volvo Auto India posted 30 per cent increase in its sales at 2,638 units in 2018 as against 2,029 units in the previous year.

Audi India is yet to declare its 2018 sales.

Source

[GTO]

One more tidbit from Mercedes:

The exceptional demand for the new Long Wheelbase E-Class continues for all its variants and it remains the highest selling model for Mercedes-Benz in 2018

Originally Posted by S.MJet

Audi India is yet to declare its 2018 sales.

Unless the numbers come in soon, it means only one thing = they are that far behind Mercedes & BMW.

[volkman10]

Audi India 2018 sales decline 18 percent – Slips to No 3, reports a sale of 6,463 cars in 2018.

In 2019, Audi India will launch the A8, R8, and other vehicles, including e-tron soon. The company says 2019 will be the ‘Year of the ‘8’s’. In comparison, 2018 was the Year of Progression.

Link