Last year BMW overtook Mercedes Benz to become India's best selling luxury brand. Mercedes Benz faced absolutely no threats to its numero uno position in India since its arrival in India in the mid 90s.
Headaches however began from the time arch rival BMW announced its entry into India. Once the Chennai facility began operations, it was seen on track to clinch the coveted title of India's most selling luxury brand. After releasing all sorts of models, from performance convertibles to weird looking crossovers, it has taken hardly three years for BMW to stamp its authority in India.
According to the most recent Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) report, BMW sold a total of 5,345 units in the last 11 months of 2010 compared to 5,109 units by Mercedes Benz.
2011 will only be better for BMW as it prepares to launch the X1 crossover, which according to the company is pegged to be the least expensive model in its portfolio.
Mercedes Benz has said many times in these two years that it isn't about number 1 or number 2. For them, profitable growth is key and offering their customers with the best brand experience counts more.
This doesn't mean Mercedes Benz isn't interested in being the market leader. In a press release issued on the 6th of July 2010 giving an account of its sales performance in 2010, Mercedes Benz had unusually cited BMW's lower sales figures and noted "Therefore, Mercedes-Benz India continues its leadership in the luxury marketspace."
With the X1 arriving in the next few months, BMW is looking good to continue leading for the third continuous year in a row in India.
Source - economictimes.indiatimes.com
