Small cities among top 10 buyers of luxury cars
MUMBAI: Smaller cities such as Surat and Ludhiana have broken into the ranks of the top 10 markets for luxury cars in India in the past decade as economic expansion spawns an emerging class of young, successful entrepreneurs who aspire to showcase their growing wealth. Mumbai and Delhi retained their places as the top markets for brands such as Mercedes-benz, BMW and Audi although their share has declined in the overall pie, according to senior executives at the car companies .
Overall, luxury car sales have grown at a fast clip in the past year and a half despite unfavourable increases in taxes and import duties. Sales of the top three car makers in the category climbed by about 20% to more than 33,600 units in 2017.
In the first half of 2018, sales of market leader Mercedes-benz India Pvt. Ltd rose 12% to 8,061 vehicles. BMW India Pvt. Ltd posted a 13% increase to 5,171 units of its BMW and Mini brands.
Tier-ii and tier-iii markets are helping drive this sales expansion at par with the metros, if not more, according to auto makers.
“We see strong contribution coming from established markets like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, among others,” Vikram Pawah, president of BMW Group India, said via email.
“At the same time, emerging markets in tier-ii and tier-iii cities have grown rapidly and are showing remarkable growth prospects for the future.”