In H1 of 2022, luxury vehicle sales increased at a double-digit rate in India

12 Jul 2022 , 09:28 AM

According to industry estimates, 17,000 luxury automobiles were sold in the nation between January and June 2022, a 55% increase over the 11,000 units sold during the same time last year. The demand, according to senior industry officials, is forcing businesses to work hard to scale up production throughout the forthcoming holiday season and ease supply bottlenecks.

Mercedes-Benz India reported its highest-ever second-quarter sales thanks to the introduction of new products and persistent demand for current models. The record sales last quarter were accomplished despite substantial hurdles, such as persistent supply-side issues on a worldwide scale that prolong waiting times and steadily raise operational expenses.

“In the first half of the year, the company's retail sales rose overall by 56% to a record 7,573 units. With the exception of H1 2018, the first half was among our best-ever”, according to Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. “Overall, a solid product lineup and consistent customer demand were beneficial. Despite certain macroeconomic worries, we have not noticed any negative effects in recent weeks” he added.

However, manufacturing delays and shortfalls are still a result of supply shortages. Mercedes-Benz completed Q2 2022 with an order backlog of over 6000 units, which is a significant increase from the 4000 vehicles it had at the end of Q1 2022.
Mercedes-Benz stated that even though it anticipates the semi-conductor scarcity to persist in the upcoming months, it would work to increase production, meet customer demand, and shorten the wait time.

Rival BMW also claimed record sales of 5,570 vehicles (including 379 MINIs) during the first half of the year in the nation. "We have achieved the best-ever half-yearly sales performance for BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad despite the instability brought on by different variables in the domestic and foreign market. Most of the products are sold out, and we are doing everything we can to meet the enormous demand.
According to Vikram Pawah, President of BMW Group India, "the order books are full and the pipeline for the upcoming months is fairly strong."

Following the pandemic, sales of luxury vehicles rebounded and increased by 40% to about 25,000 units in 2021. Mercedes Benz increased sales 42.5% to 11,242 units, despite starting from a low foundation, to maintain its position as the market leader.