The Indian arm of BMW, an acclaimed German automotive marque and country's favourite luxury and sports car maker, has refuted the idea of splurging year ending heavy discounts on its product portfolio like its other contemporaries. The announcement came in Bangalore on December 17, 2012 by Head of BMW India and definitely seems like a very bold move by the German auto maker. At present, BMW vehicles top the charts of best selling premium sports and luxury cars in the country and are followed by Mercedes Benz and Audi amongst others.
Philipp von Sahr, President of BMW Group India, has affirmed that the company would never enter the discount shelling race, in order to sell its products in the country. Underlining the company's firm stance on the issue, the BMW President said, “We don’t want to be winning the race of discounts. If you give discounts for luxury cars, you are damaging the brand.” He further supported the idea that maintaining decent profits are vital for both the company as well as for its dealership partners operational in the Indian premium luxury car market.
As per Sahr, the company operates in luxury car business and hence, has no obligation to embark on volume pulling policies that are employed by its counterparts. Philipp von Sahr has also served as President of BMW Belgium-Luxembourg in the past and supports the belief that luxury car makers should maintain their image as an exclusive brand with premium pricing and world class retail outlets. He further added, “It is important for the customers to feel good when they pay a premium price for premium products.”
According to sources, BMW India does not believe in offering heavy cash discounts and attractive schemes on it luxury car fleet. The German auto giant has stated that concession on its products if offered are solely on behalf of its dealers and the company does not have any relation whatsoever in that matter. Last month, regarding the company's no discount policy, Philipp von Sahr was quoted as saying, “The company is offering sales support on some of the outgoing models, but we are not offering discount. Dealers on their part may be offering discounts based on their stock situation.”
