[TusharK]

BMW Group India has achieved its best-ever annual car sales in CY2024, registering a growth of 11%.



The BMW Group delivered 15,721 cars, including 15,012 BMWs and 709 Minis. The carmaker clocked its best-ever Q4 sales of 4,958 units, a growth of 15%, and its highest December sales, registering 2,244 units with a growth of 17%.

BMW’s Luxury Class sales increased by 8% to 2,507 units. The BMW X7 was the most popular Luxury Class model with sales of 1,570 units, a growth of 4%. More than 5,000 units of the X7 have been sold in India since its launch. The 7 Series recorded sales of 865 units with a growth of 15%.

In 2024, 1,249 units of electric BMW and Mini cars were delivered. i7 was the largest-selling EV in its class with 384 units. The total number of EVs delivered in India has now crossed 3,000 units.

SUVs make up 56% of the brand’s total sales. 8,351 SUVs were sold in CY2024, a growth of 16% over the previous year. The BMW X5 posted its highest annual sales to date of 2,056 units, while the X1 was the most popular SUV with over 20% share in sales.



The BMW 3 Series was the highest-selling sedan with a 20% share in sales and also a class leader in its segment. Over 1,000 units of the 5 Series Long Wheelbase were sold in less than 6 months of its launch.

In 2024, BMW launched eight new M cars in India. The carmaker delivered 875 units, with the M340i being the highest-selling M model.

Mini delivered 709 units in 2024. The 3-Door Cooper S was the best-seller with 250 units, registering a growth of 77% over the previous year.

BMW Motorrad delivered 8,301 motorcycles between January and December 2024.

Link to Team-BHP news

[saikishor]

I feel BMW owes a thank you to Team-BHP. There are a lot of positive reviews for the brand. I would say BMW is the most easily recommended luxury brand on the forum.

Guess the X1 is doing pretty well despite of the lousy engine options.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by saikishor

I feel BMW owes a thank you to Team-BHP. There are a lot of positive reviews for the brand. I would say BMW is the most easily recommended luxury brand on the forum.

For a luxury car manufacturer, BMW is also doing well in consumer report surveys globally, details on this thread:

Link (Consumer Reports USA 2024 - Brands making the best cars)

[kiku007]

"Record sales"? Sure, factually correct. However, look into the details and you'll know they are spinning their wheels in a market that forever has been the, "next big thing" only on paper.

BMW Car Sales in India:


BMW Car Sales in China:

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by saikishor

I feel BMW owes a thank you to Team-BHP. There are a lot of positive reviews for the brand. I would say BMW is the most easily recommended luxury brand on the forum.

Guess the X1 is doing pretty well despite of the lousy engine options.

If Team BHP has to go by, then they wouldn’t have sold any X1’s. I see only negative sentiments towards new X1 in the forum, including me. But the fact is they are selling good numbers of X1, I guess the styling and the efficiency of diesel along with the BMW badge is resulting in good sales.

Both 3 series (I am sure that’s the highest selling in the segment) and 5 series are doing good numbers too by segment benchmark. But surely new E will be selling more than 5 series.

Overall good to see this.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by kiku007

...they are spinning their wheels in a market that forever has been the, "next big thing" only on paper.

With a standard automobile taxation of only 10% in China (source), the prices of vehicles are sane and conducive for sales.

Unlike our Indian market where the automobile taxes are exhorbitant and resulting unjustified astronomical prices for luxury cars. This will keep the buyers away as they see no value, unless folks can buy with depreciation benefits.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by kiku007

"Record sales"? Sure, factually correct. However, look into the details and you'll know they are spinning their wheels in a market that forever has been the, "next big thing" only on paper.

BMW Car Sales in India:
Attachment 2709996

BMW Car Sales in China:
Attachment 2709995

With due respect, I don’t see this as a BMW problem but the maturity of Indian car market with insane taxation. It’s not just BMW but all luxury manufacturers. Even with that low sales, BMW should be second in Indian market (next to Mercedes by a small margin) in the luxury car market.

At 40+ lakhs OTR, I don’t think any car is selling in big numbers, exception being Fortuner.

[kiku007]

@for_cars1 and @sunikkat

Of course, BMW didn't cause the problem. In fact I think their products are priced sanely compared to Toyota-Lexus.

While high taxation is certainly a reason, the even bigger underlying reason IMHO is that India just hasn't produced enough wealthy people. Looking at the way taxes are increasing without any meaningful increase in ROI for the taxpayer, I'm afraid people will be motivated to leave.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by kiku007

"Record sales"? Sure, factually correct. However, look into the details and you'll know they are spinning their wheels in a market that forever has been the, "next big thing" only on paper.

We will certainly improve in the future as more people prioritize living in the present rather than saving indefinitely.

From info on the web, as a comparison, in a mature economy like Canada, BMW Group sold approximately 34,000 cars in 2024, and they have 120 dealers across the country. In contrast, we have 20 dealers in India, which translates to significantly higher per-dealer sales.

I was unable to find data for Australia, but it should be comparable to Canada. Additionally, we should consider the fact that we only have a limited number of models. Almost all M cars are CBUs and are priced much higher than in other markets. Globally, M models are doing far better than regular.

It may not be appropriate to compare our small market with China which was doing about twice the number of USA. Additionally, there has been a very high decline in the Chinese market in the last few months.

I hope, BMW India continues investing in the localization of more models/ variants and increases the number of dealers so the premium car experience is maintained/ improved.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

We will certainly improve in the future as more people prioritize living in the present rather than saving indefinitely.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It may not be appropriate to compare our small market with China which was doing about twice the number of USA.

I agree. The lack of growth in the luxury cars segment is amplified when compared to China.

BMW India sold ~1000 cars in 2007, ~9000 in 2017 and let's estimate 20,000 in 2027. More like a rounding error from BMW's perspective.

[one-77]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

We will certainly improve in the future as more people prioritize living in the present rather than saving indefinitely.

…

It may not be appropriate to compare our small market with China which was doing about twice the number of USA. Additionally, there has been a very high decline in the Chinese market in the last few months.

I don’t think people are prioritising “savings” over buying BMWs in India. They are mostly focussing on putting food on their plates and paying their rents.

And if you go by the population, we should be the second largest market in the world, not a “small” one like you’ve mentioned, that’s only half the size of Canada which has less than 3% of our population.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by kiku007

BMW India sold ~1000 cars in 2007, ~9000 in 2017 and let's estimate 20,000 in 2027. More like a rounding error from BMW's perspective.

Companies don't work like that. Also, BMW in India will be more than 6,000 Cr company given the mix and the price point they operate. I won't term this as rounding.

Originally Posted by one-77

They are mostly focussing on putting food on their plates and paying their rents.

Let's stick to the topic, please.

[VW2010]

This is a good reflection of the movement of the middle class to the upper middle class and wealth generation rather than just the car manufacturer suddenly giving good cars at affordable prices.

The boomer uncle's grind is now helping the next generations enjoy the fruit of that grind and the boomer uncles are settling down with their dream cars. One day I will be that boomer uncle too. LOL.

[sukarsan]

Originally Posted by kiku007

BMW Car Sales in China:
Attachment 2709995

Are you sure about the China figures? Did sales actually increase linearly during Covid as well? Something is off. Just had a quick check and it seems that both BMW and Benz reported improved sales number in 2020 as compared to 2019. This is off topic , but wild!

[AnkitShroff]

I would not read a lot into this as 2020-2024 might not present the true picture, at least in India (I am not aware of the dynamics in other countries, hence not commenting).

2020-2022 saw a huge order backlog being created due to supply scarcity (semiconductor issue) which was gradually met in the next 2 years (2023 & 2024). Also, as mentioned in one of the posts, there was a shift in the mentality from long-term saving to living-in-the-present (YOLO) immediately post-Covid.

As we head into 2025, the YOLO frenzy has normalized to some extent. Also, there is no backlog of orders as such. Numbers from 2025 onwards should present a true picture of the sales and trajectory of sales growth.

While the dynamics and engineering of German cars are certainly superior to other cars, I am afraid they have priced themselves too high during this honeymoon period of 2-3 years. With mass market car companies entering into the luxury segment at a fraction of the cost and increasing acceptability as seen by the likes of Ioniqs and EV6s selling in decent numbers, it will be interesting to see how the numbers stand for the German giants in the coming years.