Market leader Mercedes-Benz sold a record 11,869 units in Jan-Sep 2017, up by 19.6 percent. BMW sold 7,138 units, up 17 percent. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold only 9925 units in the same period in 2016. Mercedes-Benz even registered highest-ever third-quarter sales figures, as the number touched 4,698 units in the July-Sep, up 41 percent from last year.
For Mercedes-Benz, growth was led by the recently launched E-class sedan; following it was the C-Class Sedan. The GLE followed the GLC in terms of sales in the SUV category for Mercedes-Benz. The Bavaria-based automaker, BMW registered a 17.3 percent growth in sales in the first nine months of 2017. These increased numbers were thanks to the demand for the recently launched 5-series. BMW – like Mercedes – registered its highest ever third quarter sales figure of 2,549 units.
Vikram Pawah, president of BMW Group India was quoted saying, "We are confident of continuing this momentum as we strongly believe, that leading the growth of the premium car segment in India is more important than being just number one.” Speaking about these record sales figures, Roland Folger, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India was quoted saying, "It always gives an additional momentum to our growth plans when the policy framework is supportive, given our contribution to the economy.”
