Utility vehicles remain the preferred bodystyle even among luxury vehicle owners.

The share of SUVs in market leader Mercedes Benz India's sales in the first six months of 2024 was 55 per cent.

It was almost similar in BMW, the No. 2 player, whose sports activity vehicles made up 54 per cent of the sales during this period.

In JLR, its Range Rover Defender series accounted for 75 per cent of the order book.

Mercedes-Benz India (MBI) led the luxury pack in the six months, registering a 9 per cent growth in sales at 9,262 units.

Rival BMW Group despatched 7,098 cars from the BMW and Mini stable and 3,614 motorcycles of BMW Motorrad, a 21 per cent increase in sales. Audi sold 2,477 vehicles during the same period.

Tata-owned JLR, which discloses only fiscal quarter sales, stated that JLR India reported 31 per cent YoY growth, with quarterly retail sales of 1,371 units.

Both Defender and Range Rover Evoque grew more than 50 per cent with the Defender being the highest selling model in the portfolio. Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender account for 75 per cent of the total order book.

Mercedes's top end vehicle (TEV) segment grew at 108 per cent. Electric vehicle sales grew 60 per cent.

Mercedes MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said: “With some of the most awaited products lined up for the upcoming festive season, we expect the remaining quarters to continue the forecasted growth.”

The BMW 7 Series — i7, X7 and XM — registered a growth of 17 per cent, contributing 18 per cent to total sales, with the X7 the highest-selling model.

The SUV segment contributed 54 per cent to sales, posting a growth of 24 per cent. BMW X1 was the most popular SUV with around 19 per cent share in sales.

The BMW 3 Series was the highest-selling BMW sedan with a 17 per cent share.

The company delivered 397 units of fully electric BMW and Mini cars in the first six months. BMW i7 was the largest-selling BMW EV in H1.

The group crossed the milestone of over 2,000 EV deliveries till date. BMW iX is the most popular luxury EV in India with over 1,000 units sold till date.

BMW Group India now offers six EVs in India — BMW i7, BMW iX, BMW i5, BMW i4, BMW iX1 and Mini SE. In July, this range will expand further with launch of Mini Countryman E and BMW CE 04, the first electric two-wheeler by BMW Motorrad India.

Audi India encountered challenges due to supply chain disruptions but maintains an optimistic outlook on the long-term potential of the Indian market. Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi India said, “While the supply situation in the second quarter has improved compared with the first quarter, it still played a limiting factor on our sales performance.”