BMW India Sales Surge 7% in Q1 2025, Driven by SUVs & EVs

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) German luxury carmaker BMW on Thursday reported a 7 per cent increase in its car sales in India at 3,914 units in the January-March period of 2025, its best ever first quarter sales, riding on its sports activity and electric vehicles.

The group, which had sold 3,675 units in the first quarter of 2024, is looking at a double digit sales growth in 2025.

The BMW brand clocked 3,764 units while MINI recorded 150 units in the first quarter of 2025, BMW Group India said.

"If you look at the total market, there are few trends or opportunities in the market. SUVs are growing in the total market, still, even though there's a slowdown. Electrics are popular and they are also doing well in the overall market...and then everybody wants to move up. They want to buy to upgrade. We are benefiting from these three things," BMW Group India President & CEO Vikram Pawah told PTI.

In the first quarter, BMW had a growth of 7 per cent despite not having its popular X3 model in the market, he said, adding that deliveries of the model will start from April.

The company's 'Sports Activity Vehicles' (SAVs) are driving the sales growth at 11 per cent growth, contributing 55 per cent of its total sales, Pawah said, adding that long wheelbase models contributed 30 per cent of the total volume.

The electric vehicle portfolio of both BMW and MINI brands clocked a total of 646 units, up 206 per cent compared to 211 units in the same quarter last year, he added.

"(It is) another good year of electric with 17 per cent of contribution to our sales. It is a strong start there," Pawah said.

The newly launched X1 long wheelbase has had a good response from the market with 1,500 bookings received in two months, he said, adding, "We are increasing local production to meet the demand so that we can provide all the demand before the festive season".

When asked about the outlook for the full year, Pawah said, "It will be even stronger, because Q1 was without the X3 model and without full supply of X1 normal base."

From the second quarter onwards, BMW will start supplying the X3 and later on, the X1 normal base that will add to the overall sales, he said, adding, "Clearly, for us, it's going to be a good double digit growth (for the year)".

While asserting that fundamentally there is no reason for India not to grow, Pawah said the only concern is the global geopolitical situation that could cause an overall economic slowdown.