BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in March 2021 by 14 units as 826 units were sold against 1,367 units with 39.6 per cent YoY sales de-growth
The Indian luxury car market has been on a backfoot ever since the health crisis impacted the economy last year. Determined to make a strong comeback, the carmakers, mainly the German trio, have been launching new products on consistent basis and more entry-level segments are being concentrated to lure in volume sales.
In February 2021, BMW India narrowed the gap to Mercedes-Benz in the monthly sales table by just 23 units and as we suspected, it has emerged on top of the standings the following month. In March 2021, BMW dispatched a cumulative domestic tally of 826 units as against 1,367 units during the same period last year with nearly 40 per cent de-growth.
Except for Ferrari, which managed to sell two units last month, all the other brands recorded sizeable negative sales growth. Mercedes-Benz finished second with a total of 812 units as against 942 units during the corresponding month in 2020 with 13.8 per cent volume de-growth, and trailed BMW by 14 units.
| Luxury Car Brands (YoY) | March 2021 Sales | March 2020 Sales |
| 1. BMW (-39.6%) | 826 | 1,367 |
| 2. Mercedes-Benz (-13.8%) | 812 | 942 |
| 3. JLR (-58.7%) | 214 | 518 |
| 4. Volvo (-60.8%) | 96 | 245 |
| 5. Audi (-79.4%) | 93 (CBU) | 452 |
| 6. Porsche (-50.7%) | 34 | 69 |
| 7. Lamborghini (-20%) | 4 | 5 |
| 8. Ferrari (100%) | 2 | 1 |
| 9. Rolls-Royce (-66.7%) | 1 | 3 |
Jaguar Land Rover slotted in at the third position with 214 units as against 518 units during the same period in 2020 with 58.7 per cent Year-on-Year sales decline. Audi, on the other hand, dropped to the fifth position with just 93 unit sales as against 452 units with a massive 79.4 per cent sales de-growth as Volvo pipped it to fourth place by just 3 units. The Ingolstadt-based brand’s numbers are only of the CBU dispatches and thus wholesale numbers could have put it higher up in the table.
The Swedish luxury car manufacturer posted 96 units as against 245 units in March 2020 with 60.8 per cent volume decline. The XC40 Recharge and XC60 facelift will go on sale in the coming months while Audi recently launched the S5 Sportback. Porsche finished sixth with 34 units with Lamborghini in seventh, Ferrari in ninth, and Rolls-Royce in tenth place.
In recent months, BMW has certainly strengthened its domestic lineup as the 3 Series Grand Limousine, 2 Series Gran Coupe petrol, 2 Series Gran Coupe Black Shadow, X3 M and X5 M Competition, facelifted 6 Series GT and M340i were introduced. Merc, on the other hand, launched the E-Class facelift and A-Class Limo last month.