BMW iX1 ‘Gone in 180 minutes’: 1,000+ EVs delivered in India

BMW Indiarecently posted their best-ever sales performance in the period of January to September in India in 2023. The German brand sold 9,580 cars and 6,778 motorcycles in the first nine months of this year. In the car business, BMW sold 8,998 vehicles while MINI dispatched 582 units. These numbers translate into a 10% increase in volumes for BMW+MINI and a 26% increase for the Motorrad division.With these numbers in perspective, we spoke to Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India and he gave us an insight into the new buying trends and things to expect from BMW in the months to come.

Talking about the highest sales figures ever in the first nine months in India, Pawah said the record-breaking numbers of September 2023 were the best in 16 years. During these nine months, BMW maintained a dominant leadership spot in the luxury electric vehicle (EV) space with five models. He added that the brand has now delivered 1,000 EVs in the first 18 months of starting sales in India.
Speaking further on EVs and the charging infrastructure, Pawah said that BMW is working with different partners to add more chargers across its dealerships and on popular routes that people tend to drive to. “This will allow our buyers to not only use their EVs within the city and around but for inter-city travels too”, he added.

Responding to the query about the body-style split presently, Pawah told us that SUVs account for 56% of total sales currently and the split between petrol and diesel is balanced with a slight inclination towards petrol. In addition, EVs already account for about 10% of total sales, proving the potential for the future, added Pawah.
Speaking about the entire allocation of the BMW iX1 being sold in just 180 minutes, Pawah said, “For us, it was a case of ‘Gone in 180 minutes’ but we will soon have more allocation so that new buyers can book their vehicles.” An important point he made was that the on-road price of BMW EVs is the same as their ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) versions and this makes it easier for the buyer to make a decision. It should be noted that EV models are generally more expensive than their similarly specced ICE variants.

Speaking about new model introductions, Pawah said that BMW had announced to launch 25 models across the BMW, MINI and Motorrad brands. Out of these 21 have been launched and the newest introduction is the 7 Series with a diesel motor, the 740d M Sport. The remaining models will primarily be product extensions and not entirely new models, he added.