BMW India has seen a strong first-quarter (calendar-year) performance. It has sold 4,567 cars in the first quarter of the year (January to March 2026), which is a 17% growth year-on-year. This comes on the back of total sales of 18,001 units in calendar year 2025, a 14% growth over the previous year.
The highlight of this growth, according to BMW India president and CEO, Hardeep Singh Brar, has been the uptake in electric vehicles. One in four BMWs, or 26% share of BMW’s sales, came from its electric vehicle (EV) lineup. It sold 1,185 EVs in the first quarter of the year, an 83% growth over the previous year. A large part of this growth can be attributed to the incentives for electric vehicles in several states (such as waivers on registration charges and road tax), lower GST for EVs and depreciation benefits (up to 40%) for business owners. Nearly 70% of BMW’s customers are businesspeople, while corporate buyers, entrepreneurs and professionals make up the rest.
The case for EVs
The price difference between a BMW EV and an equivalent internal combustion engine vehicle (BMW i7 vs 7 Series or BMW iX1 vs X1) is about 15%, but the lower running costs and depreciation benefits seem to be attracting buyers to EVs. In fact, with the BMW 7 Series, one in two cars (50%) is electric, says Brar.
BMW India continues its long-wheelbase strategy, where it sells the extended wheelbase variants of the X1, 3 Series and 5 Series in India, as the market is largely chauffeur-driven. It’s a similar case in China. Over 52% of BMW India’s sales came from long-wheelbase models.
SUVs dominate sales
Of course, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or as BMW India likes to call them, SAVs (Sports Activity Vehicles), continue to dominate sales. In the first quarter, the company sold 2,966 units, with its SUV portfolio contributing to 65% of its overall Q1 CY26 sales. Interestingly, one in four cars that BMW sold was priced over Rs 1 crore.
In the overall luxury car market, BMW claims there was 3% growth in the first quarter, but if you exclude BMW’s contribution to sales, the market apparently saw a 2% decline. Among its other products, it sold 1,216 motorcycles from its Motorrad brand and 213 cars under the Mini brand. The company says about 25% of customers financed their cars through BMW’s financial services.
For the year 2026, BMW India has 27 new products planned. Four of these (BMW M2 CS, BMW X3 30, BMW M1000 R and Mini Cooper S Victory Edition) were launched in the first quarter, while eight products are planned for Q2 CY26. With 97 touchpoints already in place, the company plans to expand to 50 more cities this year and is looking at maintaining a “strong double-digit growth”, according to Brar.
The company will soon launch the BMW F450 GS motorcycle (in collaboration with TVS), which will ride into the popular middleweight adventure motorcycle segment. The company hopes this will significantly add to its overall sales volume. Motorrad previously sold 5,800 motorcycles and scooters in calendar year 2025.
