Rajasthan Police have arrested a man allegedly involved in a large-scale fraud that collected crores in funds from people under the pretext of luxury car sales, cryptocurrency, and social media-based investment schemes.
German carmaker Audi plans to reassess and adjust its product launch strategy in India once the specific details of import duty reductions under the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) become clear, according to Balbir Singh Dhillon, the brand's director in India.
India's luxury auto market is rebounding after a slow start to 2025, with GST 2.0 emerging as the main catalyst.
The share of first-time luxury customers in BMW's portfolio has risen sharply -- from around 43 per cent in 2024 to nearly 49 per cent in 2025. In some models, the figure is even higher.
Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the luxury car segment has seen a drop by nearly 3 percentage points in the GST 2.0 era with the internal combustion engine versions offering better total cost of ownership, according to industry players. While the trend is also visible in the mass market segment, it is the entry luxury segment that is witnessing a more marked shift towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as price difference between EV and ICE widened under the new GST rates.
The effect of the subprime crisis that began to be felt around early 2007 hasn't affected domestic sales of super luxury cars priced between Rs 1 and 3 crore. Super luxury car manufacturers such as UK's Bentley grew by 20 per cent last year and expect to clock similar growth in the country this year.
'In the luxury car segment, the adoption of EVs is almost double compared to the mass market.'
While GST on ICE vehicles was brought down significantly, for electric cars it remained at 5 per cent.
The first luxury car will be launched in the first quarter of 2025 and the company is planning to open 12 'MG Select' showrooms in the next six months.
The rise of startups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is contributing to the increasing sales of high-end cars.
Luxury carmakers are shifting into high gear with a mix of product launches, personalised experiences and lifestyle-led engagement.
For the first time in history, the luxury car market is poised to cross the sales mark of 50,000 units in 2024, with Mercedes leading the way
BMW Group India recorded its highest annual sales on the back of strong demand for its top-end ICE (internal combustion engine) and electric vehicles (EVs). The German luxury automaker on Thursday announced that its domestic car sales jumped 18 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 14,172 units in calendar year 2023 (CY23). This mirrored a trend in the luxury space, with its peers also reporting record numbers.
The growth rate could continue for another seven years.
'From the Indian perspective, young customers with more disposable income will also drive the growth.'
The new definition for completely knocked down (CKD) units of vehicles introduced in the Budget for 2011-12 has pushed up sales figures of luxury cars.
After a brief lull during the pandemic, there is a strong revival in luxury car sales, bolstered by more launches across price bands, replacement demand, ban on old diesel vehicles in the NCR, and 'revenge buying'.
Roughly 70 per cent of the country's car owners may cringe at the rise in fuel prices, but the rising cost of petrol and diesel does not appear to have put the brakes on the market for luxury cars, even though they deliver a measly mileage in single digits. Till April, sales of luxury cars, defined as those costing Rs 40 lakh and more, touched 4,000 units the same as the number of cars sold for the whole of 2007.
The company said that while the first quarter numbers were at the pre-pandemic levels, it saw a growth of 34 per cent in sales compared to the April to June period of 2020.
BMW sold 9,375 units in India in 2012, topping the list of luxury car makers for the fourth consecutive year.
While the rich are buying expensive luxury vehicles in Patna, the poor continue to suffer. The pandemic, discovers M I Khan, has cast new light on the stark economic divide in the capital city of Bihar, India's poorest state.
The share of EVs in the luxury segment rose from 7 per cent in January-May 2024 to 11 per cent during the same period in 2025, marking a 66 per cent growth in the electric luxury segment.
A man was arrested in Kerala for allegedly transporting MDMA from Coimbatore, with police seizing the drugs and his vehicle after a high-speed chase.
'We expect this festival buying spirit to continue in October as well, with upcoming festivities including Dhanteras and Diwali, which traditionally witness spirited buying from customers.'
If one leaves aside 2016, when sales declined 4.68 per cent, the pace of growth in 2018 is the slowest in a decade, according to IHS Markit, a sales forecast and market research firm.
Nearly one in two luxury cars sold in India in the first three months of 2024 was a Mercedes Benz, which achieved its best ever quarter (January-March), selling 5,412 units, up 15 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) from 4,697 units in the previous year.
Dealerships, too, are going all out to roll out the red carpet for women.
Audi and Mercedes-Benz have already opened dealerships in Guwahati -- a gateway to all the north-eastern states -- and BMW intends to join them soon. Ajay Modi reports.
Speculation about rising competition from global majors has led to shares of major Indian automobile manufacturers such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Maruti Suzuki India, and Tata Motors taking a hit on the BSE.
Despite a 2.8 per cent fall in 2025 volumes, Mercedes-Benz India reported its best-ever revenue and profitability, led by top-end models, AMG growth and higher BEV mix.
The auto sector is doing well in India, despite stock market meltdown, emerging signals of industrial slowdown and rising costs.
The ban does not speak about used luxury cars.
Note ban, diesel ban have little impact as Mercedes posts marginal decline, while BMW sales rise 14 pc.
In 2024 alone, South India saw the highest rise in sales in the luxury segment, with Tamil Nadu reportedly registering a 19.3 per cent increase in premium car registrations from 2022-23
'It is going to be as high as 50% in the coming one or two months and can be about 20% to 25% in the medium term.'
In the past four months, launches of luxury and super luxury cars have sped ahead of non-luxury ones.
They either report a sales figure that shows clear signs of growth or future plans that indicate expansion in India.
This is the second consecutive year in which BMW has retained leadership position in the luxury car segment in India.
Most say they will review their Make in India plans as prices may top pre-GST level
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