It’s Germany versus Germany in the luxury car segment of India. All the three world class German car makers are intensely crossing swords with each other to acquire number one position in Indian market. And a new sensation has been added to it with Audi beating BMW in the number one luxury car brand in India. Audi has been constant with its progress after it left Mercedes-Benz behind last year. As per stats, Audi left behind both BMW and Mercedes with 2, 616 units while the rest two could manage to trade only 1410 and 2009 units respectively.
Mercedes-Benz has played the role of dark horse and has left behind BMW during the first quarter of 2013. BMW has faced a slowdown in sales figure as compared to Audi and Mercedes. This sluggishness resulted in a decline of approx. 40% for BMW on an annual basis. Both the other counterparts of this struggle have been more active in respect to sales as compared to BMW. Mercedes especially has raised its flag higher with performance drive and introduction of new vehicles.
Despite the slowdown, the utility and luxury car segments are two segments that have succeeded in maintaining their growth. Apart from this German trio other brands like Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover too have marked their presence. The war is going to get even more worth watching in upcoming times as all brands are now targeting the market through aggressive pricing strategies. Some of the most awaited models in this aggressive line up are Volvo V40, BMW 1-series, Audi A3 sedan, and Mercedes A-class.
The growing interest of all these brands in Indian market despite the slowdown is also the result of the saturation that has been gripping the markets of Europe, Australia, and USA. The thrust has been so motivating that brands like BMW have been making moves to even tap the smaller segments of Indian automotive market.
