BMW plans to introduce multiple EV models in India and expects EV sales to make up 10% of net car sales next year as it accelerates EV adoption in the country.
According to a top company official, BMW has plans to introduce more models in the electric vehicle segment in India.
Vikram Pawah, president of BMW India, said that customers have been more responsive to electric cars than expected. The company expects that Electric Car will make up 10% of its sales by the end of the following calendar year.
Recently, the automaker launched its fully electrified sedan i4 at an introductory price of Rs 69.9 lakh (USD90,000) and is looking to lead the charge in electromobility in India. They are confident that they can do so with their “widest electric vehicle portfolio.” The i4 will also be one of the three models launched in India in the first half of the year.
“When we launched these two products, the iX and Mini SE (electric), what we’re seeing is an approximate demand of about 5 percent, which is really healthy… and with the i4 launching, I expect by next year, the electric demand would be over 10 percent of our volumes.” Pawah told PTI during the launch of the i4.
BMW has already launched its iX electric SUV and the MINI Cooper SE electric hatchback in the country, which have been sold out. “I was really surprised by the phenomenal adoption of electric vehicles. The two products we launched earlier sold out in no time,” said Pawah.
“Our customers do not want to go for a compromise. They want the latest technology. The way the trends are, and with the i4 launched today, I expect 10% of the demand to come from EVs by the end of next year.” Pawah said that any new technology is used much more quickly in the premium space.
He also added that the automaker eventually would set up a manufacturing facility in the country but did not disclose any timeline. They are also investing heavily in charging infrastructure and have set up 50 DC fast chargers across 34 cities in India.
By 2023, BMW plans to release 25 electric vehicles around the world. He said that nearly half of them, the fully electric ones, could be sold in India if the current incentives stay in place and enough charging stations are set up across the country. Currently, the GST rate on all-electric vehicles has been reduced from 12% to 5%.
BMW India has sold 8,876 passenger vehicles, including MINI, in 2021. BMW Group, with MINI and Rolls-Royce, sold a total of 2,521,525 vehicles worldwide.
During the first quarter of 2022, BMW Group had all-electric car sales of 35,289, which was 149% higher than last year. Globally, they delivered a total of 596,907 vehicle sales during the same quarter.
