Indian market is an “exception”, growing steadily when demand for premium vehicles slowing down in developed countries: Jean-Philippe Parain, Senior Vice President, BMW Group

The Indian market is an “exception”, growing steadily and sustainably at a time when demand for premium vehicles in several developed countries like China, Japan and Korea have started slowing down amid weak customer sentiments, Jean-Philippe Parain, Senior Vice President, Region Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, BMW Group said. Parain, along with Markus Mueller-Zambre (Head of Region APAC, China, RUS, Africa, Importers Africa, Middle East, Caribbean) BMW Motorrad and Florian Kuenstner (Vice President, Region Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa) BMW MINI, was on a visit to the sub-continent to review business operations here.

BMW Group India reported its highest-ever half yearly sales of 7,098 cars and 3,614 motorcycles between January and June 2024. Total car sales globally grew by about 2% to 1,096,486 units in the same period.

Parain said in addition to growth prospects in the market here, India is also emerging as an important sourcing hub for the German carmaker. “We are trying to expose India to colleagues at our headquarters for parts purchasing”, he informed, without sharing specifics of the quantum of components BMW Group sources from the country.

As regards electric vehicles, Parain said while the market here is still evolving, efforts should continue to be made to smoothen and accelerate this transition. He agreed the tax structure on electric vehicles – GST rate of 5% on EVs vs up to 48% on ICE (internal combustion engine vehicles) – is beneficial. But advocated incentives to step up the momentum.

“The strongest incentive from the state should be for EVs. That is where the effort is most at the beginning. In some use cases, in some countries, where customers drive longer distances, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) can be a bridge. But if I were to speak for India, I would focus on the full transition to full electric vehicles”, he said. BMW Group India Wednesday debuted the all electric MINI Countryman in India priced at Rs 54.90 lakh (ex-showroom). The company also launched electric scooter BMW CE 04 priced at Rs 14.90 lakh. The company will start deliveries of both models from September. BMW Group India said on its part it is working on introducing a diverse range of electric vehicles in the market here to enable customer adoption. The company said it is the first luxury car manufacturer in the country to cross the milestone of over 2,000 EV deliveries till date. BMW Group currently has on sales six EVs in India – BMW i7, BMW iX, BMW i5, BMW i4, BMW iX1 and MINI SE. This range will now expand further with launch of MINI Countryman E and BMW CE 04, the first electric two-wheeler by BMW Motorrad India.