BMW eyes double-digit growth next year in two wheeler sales in India

New Delhi: BMW Motorrad, the two wheeler division of the German luxury car maker, expects sales to grown in double digits next year as well as it remains bullish on the long term growth prospects of the country.

The company, which sells a range of BMW motorcycles in the country, is looking to cross the 7,000 unit sales mark this year.

With sales volume this year till November having already crossed the 6,000 units mark, a growth of around 40 per cent as compared to same period last year, BMW Motorrad India has for the first time entered the top ten markets for the brand globally.

The company had sold 5,191 units in the country last year.

"I am absolutely certain of that," BMW Motorrad Head of Region Asia, China, Pacific & Africa Markus Mueller-Zambre told PTI when asked if the company would be able to achieve double digit volume growth in 2023.

In order to continue with sustainable growth in the market, the company has realigned its strategy a bit to reflect on the measures it needs to take to keep momentum growing in the country, he added.

"We would like to deliver authentic brand promise to our customers in a holistic way and we might see double digit growth next year like we saw this year," Mueller-Zambre said.

He noted that the Indian market continues to shine and is now in the top ten markets for BMW Motorrad globally.

"A lot of markets in my region, which is the Asia Pacific region, are not growing because of various issues. The Indian market is quite stable. It is looking very promising to record solid growth this year and this is something where we would like to participate," Mueller-Zambre stated.

Elaborating further, Mueller-Zambre said the country is now the second largest market in the Asia Pacific region for the company.

"Globally it is in the top ten. This year India has made it for the first time to the top ten markets. So it reflects how important the country is from a BMW perspective," he said.

Mueller-Zambre noted that from selling around 200 units in 2016, BMW Motorrad India is on the cusp of crossing the 7,000 unit sales mark a year.

"We are pushing the business to a level where we think anything is possible now...The Indian market has completely surprised us," he added.

On new product launches, he noted: "We are planning a few areas with electric vehicles... we plan to explore the market." He however did not share the model details and launch timelines.

In April 2013, TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad had signed a long-term strategic partnership to manufacture sub-500cc motorcycles for the global markets.

This collaboration has resulted in three products on the 310cc platform: BMW G 310 R, BMW 310 GS, G 310 RR and TVS Motor Company's TVS Apache RR 310. BMW Motorrad also brings in models like S 1000 RR into the Indian market as a completely built-up unit.