At BMW, first-time buyers take a second hand route

While BMW keeps EV lead in luxury automobiles, it will not launch another hybrid in India

- Alisha Sachdev

Bavarian automobile maker BMW’s India branch, which encompasses the premium two-wheeler brand Motorrad, British premium hatch brand Mini and BMW’s passenger cars, clocked its highest sales in 2023, delivering just over 13,300 cars, a growth of 18% over sales in 2022, and 8,768 motorcycles, 20% more than 2022.

However, what shone alongside the growth in sales of BMW’s new vehicles, is its growth in its used car sales, which grew 32% in 2023 to attain their best-ever levels. “We achieved this by upgrading many near-premium customers to luxury, and by upgrading existing luxury customers to higher brands," Vikram Pawah, president, BMW Group India, said.

Used luxury cars are a good alternative for Indian customers, who are known to be conservative when it comes to making big-ticket luxury car purchases, to have a premium car ownership experience.