Luxury carmakers saw retail sales drop to the worst since the Covid19 pandemic in the first half of this year, as uncertain market conditions and price hikes dampened buyer enthusiasm.

The country’s top three luxury automotive brands – MercedesBenz, BMW and Audi – reported a nearly unchanged total sales volume in the six months ended June, compared to the same period last year. Together, they clocked 18,915 units, a change of 0.4% yearonyear.

Speaking to FE, Santosh Iyer, managing director, MercedesBenz India, said: “Though this has been a good (June) quarter for us, our outlook for the year will still be a singledigit growth or flattish growth. The base effect (of last year) is huge for the second half.”

MercedesBenz, the country’s largest luxury carmaker, reported a 3% yoy decline in volumes in the January to June period to 9,013 units. This was the first decline in H1 of any year for the company since 2020.

Iyer, however, noted that consumer enquiries and footfalls in showrooms are still better than last year, notwithstanding the twin price hikes carried out during the year.

“Pricing and macroeconomic conditions are unsure, but the sentiments are looking positive. Last year we did 19,600 units. There is an uphill task (for us) for the next two quarters,” Iyer added.

Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Lexus, Porsche and other brands make up the luxury car segment in the country. Given the uncertainty around consumer interest, market watchers are expecting the year to report low singledigit growth for the industry.

Earlier this month, Audi, one of India’s top four luxury car brands, said its halfyearly sales fell 14% yoy to 2,128 units. The brand blamed price increases, driven by weakening exchange rate for the fall.   

BMW, India’s secondbiggest luxury car company, however, bucked the trend to post a 10% growth yoy in volumes in the six months to June, clocking 7,774 units including nearly 300 units from the Mini brand.

The electric vehicle (EV) portfolio of the luxury carmakers are not impacted by the broader slowdown. MercedesBenz said sales of its EV portfolio shot up by 157% in the June quarter, achieving a penetration of 8% to total sales.

BMW, the leader in the luxury EV segment, reported a 234% yoy jump in volumes in the halfyearly period ended June, achieving a penetration of 18%.

However, despite the sluggishness in demand, there is no letup in the product launch momentum. MercedesBenz on Friday launched the GLS 450 AMG Line SUV, starting Rs 1.4 crore. The launch comes just two weeks after it introduced AMG GT 63 and GT63 PRO – priced at Rs 3 crore and Rs 3.65 crore, respectively.