Luxury car sales growth slows to 3% amid global jitters

Luxury car sales in India rose by a modest about 3% from a year earlier in the March quarter as customers deferred purchases amid concerns over geopolitical uncertainties, volatile stock markets, and cost pressures from a weak rupee.

About 14,000 vehicles priced more than Rs 40 lakhs were sold in the three months ended March, according to industry estimates. The performance widely trailed sales of passenger vehicles in the mainstream market which accelerated about 18% to 1.43 million units during the quarter.

“These (luxury car) buyers are largely from the business class—more dependent on the global economy, unlike those in the mass market who are salaried professionals,” said Hardeep Singh Brar, President & CEO, BMW Group India. “In such times, these buyers tend to conserve cash so that if anything were to happen, they will still have money to run their business.”

In addition to the US-India trade war which weighed on demand through most of last fiscal, mounting tensions in West Asia impacted purchasing decisions by the country’s rich and aspirational buyers.

Audi expects luxury car sales in India to grow in moderate single-digits in calendar 2026 due to tepid demand at the more affordable end of the market amid higher vehicle prices. “I think broadly in the luxury space, last year the growth was muted,” Balbir Singh Dhillon, brand director, Audi India said in a recent interaction. “This year also, we are anticipating a single digit growth, of about 5-7%”.

Around 52,000 luxury vehicles were sold in 2025.

In the first quarter, BMW India outpaced the industry to grow by 17% at 4,567 vehicles across BMW and MINI models. Rivals Mercedes-Benz India and Audi are yet to report sales for Q1.

Brar expects the growth momentum to continue and the company to clock double-digit sales growth in 2026 backed by several product launches and distribution network expansion. The German carmaker has lined up for launch a total of 25 vehicles – 10 under MINI and 15 under the BMW badge – this year.

As much as 26% of BMW’s sales in the first quarter came in from electric vehicles, demand for which is expected to accelerate due to constraints in supplies of fuel amid the West Asia crisis.

“A lot of customers have started feeling that electric vehicles are the right way to move forward,” said Brar. BMW India’s EV sales surged 83% last quarter to 1,183 units.

Overall, Brar is confident of the long-term growth prospects in the country and expects the share of vehicles priced over Rs 40 lakh in total car sales to double to 5% by the turn of the decade.