[TusharK]

Mercedes-Benz and BMW ended 2022 on a high, registering strong growth compared to the previous year.



Mercedes-Benz topped the sales charts in the luxury car segment, registering a growth of 40.74% and securing a market share of 44.71%. The carmaker sold 15,822 units, compared to 11,242 units in 2021.

BMW ended the year in second place, registering a YoY growth of 36.81% and a market share of 31.84%. BMW sales in 2022 stood at 11,268 units compared to 8,236 units in the previous year.



Audi secured the third spot with total sales of 4,187 units. The German carmaker registered a growth of 27.15%, with a market share of 11.83%. Mini sold 713 vehicles in 2022, compared to 640 units in the previous year.

Jaguar Land Rover sold fewer vehicles in 2022 compared to the previous year. Sales dropped 25% from 2,000 units in 2021 to 1,500 units in 2022. On the other hand, Volvo sales increased by 10.21% to 1,900 units.

Link to Team-BHP News

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Mercedes-Benz topped the sales charts in the luxury car segment, registering a growth of 40.74% and securing a market share of 44.71%. The carmaker sold 15,822 units, compared to 11,242 units in 2021.

Still same for Mercedes and lower for BMW than the 2018 peak. The luxury segment is strangely still stagnant.

[Dr.Car]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Still same for Mercedes and lower for BMW than the 2018 peak. The luxury segment is strangely still stagnant.

Thanks to the insanely high amount of taxes enforced by our government which makes it almost impossible for normal salaried individuals to buy a Luxury car. Even for high income individuals (Read Income tax slab of 33%) it's a pretty difficult affair! When you compare prices to same models abroad, you just get shocked.

Was in the market last year for the GLC and when the SA shared the final quote with me, I was surprised that Mercedes is actually earning only 45 Lacs from the vehicle being sold to the customer at around 72 OTR. Upon reading carefully, I observed that there are taxes even before the Ex-Showroom price also and thus even these are not totally in the hands of manufacturers. Heck, you can get a GLE abroad (Read US, UK, Australia) for the same price as GLC here in India,

[one-77]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Still same for Mercedes and lower for BMW than the 2018 peak. The luxury segment is strangely still stagnant.

The pricing strategy is largely responsible, I think. Most models have had considerable price increases even after accounting for inflation. Also, the discounting that helped sales pre-pandemic is no longer there, so for many prospective customers, buying a luxury car is probably a decision they would think over multiple times before going ahead. I am sure these companies would have increased their profit margins (or at least cut losses) by a large percentage when compared to 2018, though. I think they have realised that it is easier to earn more per car than trying to increase volumes.

[TorqMaster]

Dear Mods, No Lexus in the list?

Another question - with prices as such would it not make sense to just head to BBT and indulge than looking for a highly taxed car? But would the average luxury car buyer do that?

[Flyer]

Curious to see how the number will change for BMW after they bring the LWB of 5 series and 3 series. I feel its a very good decision buy BMW to bring the long wheel versions as this is one of the big reason why the chauffer driven segment of buyers chose Mercedes or Lexus.

[GTO]

The Mercedes & BMW sales numbers are largely as expected. Quite sad to see Audi languishing at just 4000 units / year. 350 units a month isn't enough to sustain a mainstream luxury car company. Check out my thread on Audi India (Whatever happened to Audi India? Why is the brand struggling since 2016?). That being said, it's nice to see some growth from Audi.

Originally Posted by dragracer567

The luxury segment is strangely still stagnant.

1. The massive price increases have a role to play. E.g. new C-Class is now 70 lakhs OTR!

2. Cars from segments below have gotten pretty darn competent. Tucson, Kodiaq, Octavia / Superb, Innova Hycross, XUV700 etc.

3. In a market that has largely dumped sedans & moved almost entirely to SUVs & Crossovers, how many crossovers do the luxury marques offer for 50 - 60 lakhs? Am talking about properly sized ones, not small models like the GLA.

In almost all ~50-60 lakh rupee comparisons, SUVs & Crossovers from the everyday brands are superior to the offerings of Audi, BMW, Mercedes.

Originally Posted by TorqMaster

Dear Mods, No Lexus in the list?

Lexus numbers are so tiny that the brand doesn't share them. Period.

[CosmicWizard]

Another strange strategy I notice is that their SUVs are priced much more than their own sedans. For example, in US market, 5 series is 15-20% more expensive than X3 (same for Q5 vs A6) but in India, those are priced almost the same, in spite of both being CKD. Is this because of more tax on SUV or something else?

[thenewsymbol]

Originally Posted by Dr.Car

Thanks to the insanely high amount of taxes enforced by our government which makes it almost impossible for normal salaried individuals to buy a Luxury car. Even for high income individuals (Read Income tax slab of 33%) it's a pretty difficult affair! When you compare prices to same models abroad, you just get shocked.

Exactly, atleast government should give an option to offset the surcharge part of the income tax with the expense of our choosing.
The surcharge on income tax was a, regressive move and on top of that other taxes.

The exclusive showroom price that you see includes 28℅ GST and other some 25℅ cess. So the manufacturer is not at fault at all. As per him, he pricing the car as same as he does in any other country.

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by Dr.Car

Thanks to the insanely high amount of taxes enforced by our government which makes it almost impossible for normal salaried individuals to buy a Luxury car.

Just trying to understand the tax part and sorry for a noob question. Has the taxes, in percentage, gone up year on year in last say 5 years?


Now lets look at these 'launch' prices for Mercedes Benz C200.

Oct. 2017 - The C-class ‘Edition C’ is priced at Rs. 42.54 lakh for the C 200 Avantgarde.
Jan. 2019 - Mercedes-Benz C 200 petrol launched in Progressive trim at Rs. 43.46 lakh
May 2022 - Mercedes Benz India launches C-Class sedan, price starts at INR 55 lakh (C200). Today, C200 starts at INR 57.20 lakh!!

I feel its not just taxes, manufacturers have bumped up the prices.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

I feel its not just taxes, manufacturers have bumped up the prices.

Taxes would be a large part of the 57L asked for yes, though they may not have gone up in terms of percentage.
The increase in price is also due to exchange rate fluctuations since a lot of components are imported/CKD units + also due to the chip shortage which resulted in reduced discounts at a time people were revenge buying post covid lockdowns.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

Now lets look at these 'launch' prices for Mercedes Benz C200.

Oct. 2017 - The C-class ‘Edition C’ is priced at Rs. 42.54 lakh for the C 200 Avantgarde.
Jan. 2019 - Mercedes-Benz C 200 petrol launched in Progressive trim at Rs. 43.46 lakh
May 2022 - Mercedes Benz India launches C-Class sedan, price starts at INR 55 lakh (C200). Today, C200 starts at INR 57.20 lakh!!

I feel its not just taxes, manufacturers have bumped up the prices.

You are forgetting that it was 64 rupees to 1 dollar in Oct 2017 and now it is 81 rs, a devaluation of 25%. In dollar terms, launch price has gone up less than 10% and given the extra tech the newer versions have, seems quite reasonable.

[Dr.Car]

Originally Posted by thenewsymbol

Exactly, atleast government should give an option to offset the surcharge part of the income tax with the expense of our choosing.
The surcharge on income tax was a, regressive move and on top of that other taxes.

The exclusive showroom price that you see includes 28℅ GST and other some 25℅ cess. So the manufacturer is not at fault at all. As per him, he pricing the car as same as he does in any other country.

Well, sorry but the thing in this country is that however high amount of taxes you pay to the government, you don't get any incentive or benefits as compared to the one paying nothing!

[Dr.Car]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

Just trying to understand the tax part and sorry for a noob question. Has the taxes, in percentage, gone up year on year in last say 5 years?


Now lets look at these 'launch' prices for Mercedes Benz C200.

Oct. 2017 - The C-class ‘Edition C’ is priced at Rs. 42.54 lakh for the C 200 Avantgarde.
Jan. 2019 - Mercedes-Benz C 200 petrol launched in Progressive trim at Rs. 43.46 lakh
May 2022 - Mercedes Benz India launches C-Class sedan, price starts at INR 55 lakh (C200). Today, C200 starts at INR 57.20 lakh!!

I feel its not just taxes, manufacturers have bumped up the prices.

Well even though there hasn't been any significant increase in the taxes but if you look from another perspective, you'll find that the taxes are already so high that there isn't any room for increasing then at the moment.

As far as the Ex-Showroom pricing is concerned, I meant to tell that even that pricing includes taxes i.e. GST of around 28% Most buyers including me thought that the Ex-Showroom prices totally depend on the manufacturer but this isn't the case. So, even if the manufacturer wants to increase prices at a genuine rate, it actually translates into a much higher launch price due to the large percentage which would become more shocking for higher priced vehicles

What's even worse is even after paying this huge amount, you still are left with paying the road tax, RC charges etc.

[Nikhil080]

The lack of a diesel may be hurting Audi's nos. As GTO pointed out, it's been a downhill for the brand in India since 2016.