Vikram Pawah (country president at BMW), told Reuters that BMW is considering the launch of more BEVs in India amid increasing demand from luxury car buyers.
“By 2023, we will have 25 globally electrified products. Half of them will be fully electrified.” Pawah stated that each of the 12 electrified products will be evaluated for Indian markets.
Three EVs are already sold by BMW in India. If supply chain issues improve, which Pawah anticipates will happen in 2023 EVs could contribute over 10% to BMW’s total 2023 sales.
Globally, car production has been affected by a shortage of semiconductors and disruptions to supply chains due to lockdowns caused by pandemics and the Ukraine conflict. However, the situation appears to be improving.
India is largely a low-cost market for cars. Luxury models only accounted for 1% of total sales of 3.8 million units in 2022. Even though the luxury EV market remains small and untested, demand is increasing.
BMW and rival Mercedes are looking to capitalize on the demand, at a moment when Tesla has made a decision to stay away due to high import taxes for EVs.
In India, Mercedes launched three EVs, including a local-assembled electric model of the flagship S-Class sedan. It expects EVs will account for 25% of its total sales over the next 5-years.
BMW is striving to have at least half its global sales be zero-emission vehicles in 2030. Pawah says that India will soon adopt clean cars.
BMW India’s total sales rose by 35% to almost 12,000 cars in 2022. This is its highest-ever year. It still trails Mercedes, which saw a record year with 41% sales growth and close to 16,000 vehicles.