Petrol BMWs See Strong Demand; SUV Sales Rise Too

The luxury carmaker is already offering BSVI petrol engines on its cars in India

BMW has announced that it has made its highest ever half yearly (January to June) sales in the year 2018. Thanks to the sales of 5171 units comprising of 4890 BMWs and 281 Minis, the German carmaker registered a 13 per cent year on year growth.

BMW added the third-gen X3 and the 6-Series GT to its lineup in 2018, both of which are available in a choice of petrol as well as diesel engines. In fact, the carmaker offers both petrol and diesel engine options on 10 out of the 11 cars in its lineup. The only car that doesn’t get a petrol engine is the X1.

While the majority of sales must still be courtesy diesel-powered BMWs (and Minis), the company has seen a rise of 92 per cent in the sales of petrol models. While the mass-market car space was already experiencing the shift, the luxury market is still dominated by diesel cars and it could be one of the first signs of changing buyer preferences.

BMW has also stated that there has been a 26 per cent rise in demand for SUVs in comparison to the year 2017. Sales of SUVs are continuously growing, irrespective of segments and price points. The BMW X3, which was launched at the Auto Expo 2018, has driven the growth of premium midsize SUVs by 60 per cent, claims BMW. The segment comprises of models like the Audi Q5, Volvo XC60 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC. In the same space, Volvo has also revealed that the XC60 contributes as much as 25 per cent to its overall sales and the carmaker is planning to start local assembly of the model in India soon. Audi also introduced a petrol engine for the Q5 recently, again hinting at an expected rise in demand for petrol-powered luxury vehicles, even in the SUV segment.

BMW’s Mini range of cars has also seen a growth of 30 per cent in H1, 2018 over H1, 2017. The carmaker launched the new Mini Countryman and the 2018 Cooper twins a couple of months back. The luxury segment has, in the past, seen growth on the back of new launches and it seems that the regular introduction of newer products and model updates has been helping BMW’s case as well. Related: BMW X3 Petrol Launched At Rs 56.9 Lakh

BMW has already announced that it is going to launch the X4 SUV in India in 2019 and the carmaker is also considering the X2 for the Indian market. The BMW X1 is also expected to get a facelift soon and the same was spied recently. Read more about it here.