India enters BMW’s top 20; Brar eyes top 15 by 2030

On the back of sustained double-digit growth, India has broken into the top 20 markets for BMW globally by sales volume, underscoring the rising importance to the German luxury carmaker even as global auto demand remains uneven.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Hardeep Singh Brar, President and CEO, BMW Group India, said, “The next target is to be in the top 15. Let’s see by 2030.” To support this ambition, the company has lined up 27 product actions for 2026, including 10 new model launches, aimed at strengthening its portfolio and sustaining global momentum.

With an end-to-end play from the entry-level luxury car segment with the X1, to the top-of-the-line 7 Series and M range of cars, BMW has been able to grow at a CAGR of 13-14% since COVID. Once the number 1 player in the luxury car market, BMW narrowed the gap with the largest carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, in 2025 to just about 1,000 units. 

Beyond products, BMW Group India’s expanding footprint has contributed to its global rise. The company plans to enter 10 new cities in 2026, widening its reach as luxury demand spreads beyond major metropolitan centres.

BMW’s rise in global ranking comes on the back of sustained outperformance over the past few years, driven by a strong product cycle and a sharp rise in electric vehicle adoption. BMW Group India closed the calendar year 2025 with sales of around 18,000 units, outpacing growth in several mature global markets.

While India remains a relatively small luxury car market at about 52,000 units annually, Brar said the country is emerging as one of BMW’s fastest-growing markets worldwide. “We will definitely be one of the fastest,” he said.

Interestingly, India ranked in the top 10 markets for BMW in terms of EV penetration, which more than doubled in 2025. The surge has been led by the locally assembled iX1, which contributed roughly 3,000 units out of BMW India’s total EV sales of about 3,500 vehicles last year. Improved customer confidence, aided by assured buyback programmes and a growing used-EV ecosystem, has also supported adoption, Brar said.

“Some markets were already doing quite well, but we have suddenly moved from about 8% to 21% EV penetration,” Brar said, adding that India is now among the fastest-growing EV markets within BMW’s global network.

Brar said BMW’s ambition to climb further up the global rankings would be driven by sustained, brand-led growth rather than aggressive volume chasing. “The double digit is a bare minimum now for us,” he said. “But the idea is not to chase numbers at any cost. The growth has to come from the positive impact of portfolio expansion, network growth and brand experience.”