India consists of one of the largest automobile markets which accounts for approximately 7.1% of the country’s GDP. The major components include; growth in purchasing power (especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities), economic growth, rapid urbanization, and the drive to increase the car per capita ratio (less than 200 cars per 1000 population).
The luxury car witnessed stable growth over the years and gained significant traction. In today’s era, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are dominating the Indian market. In the year 2017, the sales stood at around 40,000 and India became the 27th most attractive luxury car market in the world.
Mercedes-Benz was the first luxury car brand to enter the Indian market. It was the leading luxury car brand and enjoyed a monopoly in the local market up to 2006. This followed up by entering BMW in 2006 and Audi in 2007.
Mercedes-Benz registered the utmost sales as compared to their rival brands for the third consecutive year and sold 15,300 units in 2017. This was the highest sale ever in a year and led to a growth of 15.9% more than the preceding year.
BMW registered an entire sale of 9,800 units with a growth of 25% in 2017 as compared to 2016. Audi registered a growth of 2% with a total sale of 7,876 units in the same year.
The increase in sales was due to the introduction of more competitive pricing products, new styles, and expansion of the product portfolio.
The company’s progress was achieved with the launch of newer models including the high-performing AMG and introducing a variety of series to the model.