BMW is the leading luxury car maker by sales in India. However, in the SUV segment Tata Motors owned brand Land Rover has taken the lead over the German brand. Tata Motors sold 35 units of SUV cars in January as compared to 16 units sold by BMW in the same month. The segment is currently ruled by Audi with total sales of 114 SUVs in January while Mercedes sold only 6 units.
Land Rover offers an array of models in India that start from Rs. 35 lakh and the product portfolio comprises of its entire range - the Freelander 2, Discovery 4 Sports Tourer, the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover. Land Rover now intends to expand its Range Rover product portfolio in India as it gets overwhelmed with the response from the Indian customers.
On the other hand, BMW offers selected models like X3, X5 and X6 in India which start with price tag of Rs. 55 lakh. Cheaper pricing led Land Rover to lead the segment in a price sensitive market like India. BMW intends to fight seriously in such market and will be soon assembling its X1 model at its Chennai plant which will bring its cost to Rs. 26 lakh. "The 3 series, 5 series and X1 will be the volume puller for the company," said a senior BMW executive.
As the market scenario changes towards more fuel efficient models, luxury car makers are focusing more on smaller SUV models packed with superior luxury features in their models. The luxury car market in India is expected to grow at 15 percent in India with greater rush coming from the rural and semi-urban markets. Audi will also start manufacturing its model Q5 in India from April 2010. Currently Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 models are being imported as completely built units in India making them pricier as per the Indian customers.
