India's premiumisation story is just beginning: Vitesh Barar, BMW Group India

India's luxury automobile market is entering a new phase of growth, driven by rising affluence, younger buyers and an increasing appetite for premium products. Riding this momentum is BMW Group India, which has not only strengthened its position in the luxury vehicle market but has also emerged as the leader in the country's luxury electric vehicle (EV) segment.

Posting 14% year-on-year growth in 2025, with sales of 18,001 cars and SUVs, places India among the top 20 global markets for the BMW Group. The German luxury carmaker has carried the momentum into the current year, clocking its highest-ever H1 sales with a 17% increase in sales, with 9,075 cars sold during the first quarter while its electric vehicle portfolio surged by a robust 83%.

Speaking to Pitch BrandTalk, Vitesh Barar, Director of Marketing, BMW Group India, said the company's performance reflects a larger structural shift taking place within India's consumer economy. According to Barar, India's premiumisation trend has become the single biggest catalyst for luxury automobile sales along with first-time buyers entering the luxury segment earlier than before, choosing higher-end products for their first purchase.

Premiumisation reshaping India's luxury car market

Barar believes the transformation is visible across price segments within BMW's portfolio. He says, "The growth is not restricted to the lower end of our portfolio. We are seeing robust demand even in the top-end luxury segment. Vehicles priced above ₹1 crore are growing exponentially faster versus the last couple of years."

One of the most striking consumer trends, according to BMW, is the changing profile of first-time luxury car buyers – aged between 35 and 45 years – whose discretionary spending has risen. He explains, "Our analysis shows that first-time buyers are not just entering through the X1, X3 or the 3 Series. We are seeing customers directly purchasing top-end models like the X5 and X7. That's a phenomenon we haven't observed as a group in other markets globally."

Despite geopolitical uncertainties and temporary disruptions during the first half of the year, BMW believes underlying consumer demand has remained resilient.

BMW India recently announced price revisions across its portfolio, a move influenced by rising input costs and foreign exchange fluctuations. Rather than passing on the entire burden immediately, BMW has opted for a calibrated pricing strategy. The approach, he said, allows the company to maintain profitability without adversely affecting consumer confidence.

Marketing investments remain intact 

During economic uncertainty, companies often respond by cutting advertising and marketing expenditure, BMW India is moving in the opposite direction. The focus is on consistent investment to build long-term brand differentiation. Barar says, "Fortunately, our marketing budgets have not been impacted. In fact, we continue to invest, we are launching more products, investing in experiential marketing to reach consumers and create meaningful brand experiences. In times of uncertainty, this is where a true brand differentiation comes in play.”

Although Barar declined to disclose specific budget figures, he confirmed that marketing expenditure continues to grow alongside BMW India's business ambitions. He states, "Our marketing investments are aligned with our growth aspirations. Naturally, media inflation and experiential costs have gone up, but overall our budgets remain positive and continue to support our expansion plans."

Experiential marketing remains the heart of luxury branding

Speaking about the evolution of the company's media strategy, Barar said the marketing mix has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. Today, while digital occupies a central position in BMW India's communication strategy, "experiential marketing has always been, and will continue to remain, the cornerstone of luxury marketing."

Despite the rapid rise of digital, Barar said traditional media has not disappeared from BMW's marketing plans with each platform serving a distinct purpose within the overall communication strategy. He shares, "Print may not be as relevant as it once was, but it continues to remain a significant investment, especially from an awareness and consideration perspective." For product launches which require broad awareness, print, magazines, digital platforms and connected television (CTV) come into play, while targeted campaigns increasingly leverage data-led digital channels. "Linear television has gradually shifted towards connected TV because it allows much more targeted communication,” he noted.

While media consumption has evolved, BMW's belief in experiential marketing has remained unchanged. Barar says that consumers engage with brands through three touch-points, "The first is through communication, where consumers visually experience the brand through advertising and digital content. The second is inside the showroom, where they physically interact with the vehicle. The third is experiential when we take the brand to the customer through curated experiences that allow them to live the BMW lifestyle and associate with the BMW imagery." 

For a premium brand, these touchpoints work together rather than competing with one another. Barar adds, “From our perspective, it is very important to invest heavily in experiential marketing in the luxury segment. The brand saliency is driven mostly by experiential marketing, that is where the heavy lifting is done. Experiential marketing and above-the-line communication are complementary. They are not substitutes. Every campaign is executed so that the brand experience remains seamless across every touchpoint."

Building affinity through passion points

Rather than pursuing visibility through mass sponsorships, BMW prefers associating with experiences that naturally resonate with its customer base. Barar says, “We're very targeted in where and how we want to invest.”

The company has therefore built long-term associations around art, culture, sports and performance. Among its most established partnerships is golf, an association BMW India has continued since entering the country in 2007. Barar says, "Golf has been an important platform for us for the last 17 years. Interestingly, the sport is becoming younger and attracting a wider audience, and golf gets us better RoI today versus a decade back.”

BMW also invests in India's art ecosystem through partnerships with events such as the India Art Fair and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Motorsports is another important pillar. "BMW is the Ultimate Driving Machine. There is simply no better way to experience the brand than from behind the wheel," he says.

Technology and AI: Improving marketing efficiency

Like most global marketers, BMW India has significantly increased investments in customer data platforms, CRM technologies, analytics and artificial intelligence. However, Barar stressed that these investments are viewed as long-term business investment rather than operational costs. He says, "We consciously look at technology as an investment because over time these investments have consistently delivered better marketing outcomes. We've been able to get better ROI from our media planning and campaigns and we continue to heavily invest in it.”

When it comes to artificial intelligence, BMW is exploring opportunities across the marketing ecosystem while adopting a cautious approach toward creative applications. Barar states, "We are experimenting with AI-led asset creation, but we're still in the early stages because we have to be careful with a brand that carries over 110 years of legacy. On the backend, we've been extremely bullish about AI, whether it's analytics, productivity enhancement or decision-making." He continues, “Are we utilizing the full potential AI? No. My job within my team is to encourage everybody to seek more use cases where we can use and enable everybody to adapt rather than fear AI.”

Personalisation replacing one-size-fits-all marketing

One of BMW India's most recent integrated campaigns, Drive Your Match, took the personalization route to a different level. Instead of promoting individual models/entire portfolio to their customer base, the campaign focused on helping consumers identify the BMW that best suited their personality and lifestyle. The central idea — There's a BMW for every you — was designed to shift the conversation from product-centric communication to personalised customer journeys. Barar explains, "Rather than telling consumers which car they should buy, we wanted to help them discover the BMW that matched who they are. Hence, the construct of Drive Your Match came in"

According to Barar, the next step was hyper-personalization where the entire digital ecosystem/ performance marketing followed a mapped customer lifecycle. Every interaction triggers personalised communication. For example, if a prospective customer booked a test drive for a specific model, subsequent communication focused on nudging them with information on that vehicle while maintaining the broader campaign narrative. BMW also ensured the campaign remained contextually relevant throughout the year. Barar says, “I reiterate again, for a brand the narrative or the consistency in communication at each and every step of the funnel, or throughout the customer lifecycle has to be consistent. When we rolled out Drive Your Match, in January the communication spoke of depreciation. During the traditional March sales season, our narrative changed to Goodbye Second Thoughts, linking the emotional idea of finding the perfect match and nudging the narrative forward.”

Brand building doesn't stop once awareness is achieved

Although BMW enjoys one of the highest recall scores among luxury automobile brands, Barar believes awareness alone is insufficient for sustaining long-term growth. He states, “We don't believe in simply putting our logo everywhere. Awareness is not our challenge. Our objective is to create meaningful affinity with consumers by getting into the lifestyle of our consumers. This creates an affinity towards the brand at a much higher level.”

One example is the BMW Excellence Club, an exclusive loyalty programme for owners of the brand's flagship luxury vehicles. This reinforces the brand’s position from being just a transactional service to being a partner in the customers’ lifestyle. The programme offers members access to bespoke global experiences ranging from concierge services to curated travel experiences including exclusive access to prestigious international events and unique lifestyle opportunities. 

BMW has also expanded consumer engagement through platforms such as BMW Joytown, which combines music, food and cultural experiences to introduce younger audiences to the brand and build a fan base. Similarly, initiatives like the BMW M Drift Academy bring together high-performance driving experiences with entertainment, music and lifestyle events, allowing consumers to experience the BMW performance philosophy first-hand. He says, "The objective isn't immediate sales. It's about getting people into the ecosystem to experience what the BMW world feels like. The moment you break the barrier of a consumer, the affinity for the brand goes up. Once that emotional connection is established, the selling becomes much easier."

'An EV is not a different car—it's simply another drivetrain'

Electric vehicles have emerged as one of BMW Group India's biggest growth engines. Today, more than one in every four BMWs sold in the country is electric, making the company the undisputed leader in India's luxury EV segment. according to Barar achieving that position required much more than introducing new products. It demanded a long-term strategy focused on consumer education, infrastructure development and addressing the practical concerns that often prevent buyers from making the switch.

Unlike many automakers that market electric vehicles as an entirely new category, BMW has deliberately positioned EVs as a natural extension of its existing portfolio. Barar said the approach stems from the company's global 'Power of Choice' strategy, which allows customers to choose the drivetrain that best suits their lifestyle without compromising on the BMW experience. He says, "We truly believe that an electric vehicle is not another model. EV is simply another drivetrain. Whether it's petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid, electric or, in the future, hydrogen, a BMW should still feel and drive like a BMW."

This philosophy has also influenced the company's marketing strategy. Instead of creating separate campaigns for EV buyers, BMW focuses on understanding individual customer requirements before recommending the most suitable powertrain. He states, "From a product view, a car is not differentiated and the customer set if the same. We never believed in selling and marketing EVs to everyone. The first step is to understand how the customer and their needs.”

 That approach was especially important during the early years of EV adoption, when India's charging infrastructure was still at a nascent stage. He continues, "When we started our EV offensive three to four years ago, the charging ecosystem wasn't as widespread as it is today. We consciously avoided selling EVs to customers whose daily usage involved long-distance travel because charging could become a challenge. This paid dividends."

Recognising that infrastructure remained one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption, BMW simultaneously invested in expanding its charging ecosystem. The company established more than 250 BMW Destination Charging stations across locations frequently visited by its customers, including luxury hotels, golf clubs and premium hospitality destinations. Barar explains, “If our customers are spending a few hours at a hotel or a golf course, they should be able to conveniently charge their vehicle while they go about their day and also address range anxiety."

Another effort to address the charger challenge had BMW make home charging a standard part of the ownership experience. He says, "From the very first EV we sold in India, we ensured customers received a home charger along with installation before the vehicle was delivered. That addressed one of the biggest concerns consumers had." According to Barar, nearly 90% of BMW EV owners now charge their vehicles at home, making home charging the primary mode of energy replenishment rather than public infrastructure.

Beyond infrastructure, BMW realised that consumer awareness would play an equally important role in accelerating EV adoption. Initially, many prospective buyers remained hesitant about switching from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles due to concerns around range, charging convenience and long-term usability. Instead of relying purely on advertising, BMW focused on education. The company organised multiple customer engagement programmes and knowledge sessions across its dealer network where product experts explained how electric mobility actually and addressed customer concerns. 

The company's breakthrough came with the launch of the BMW iX1 Long Wheelbase at the Auto Expo, but Barar said the success was the result of months of preparation behind the scenes. He says, "We constituted an internal project team that looked at every aspect from a customer's perspective that needed to be addressed and solved." This led to an innovation, the BMW's charging concierge service, which assists customers planning long-distance journeys by helping them reserve charging stations in advance and even facilitate payment so the entire journey becomes hassle-free. BMW also integrated nearly 8,000 charging stations into its in-car navigation system, enabling route planning based on charging availability. Another initiative, BEVscape, allows prospective buyers visiting BMW dealerships to understand the practical benefits of EV ownership through personalised consultations. 

Those efforts are beginning to translate into significant business results. BMW's electric vehicle portfolio recorded more than 80% growth during the first quarter of the year, while EVs now account for over 25% of the company's total sales in India. Barar says, "Today, more than one in every four BMWs we sell is electric. That's a remarkable adoption curve." Demand has become so strong that certain electric models, including the BMW iX1 and the flagship BMW i7, continue to experience supply constraints. "In some cases, demand is actually outpacing supply, particularly for models like the iX1 and i7. We've been fortunate to address customer concerns early, and that has certainly helped us stay ahead," he says.

Growth will come through products and stronger customer engagement

Looking ahead, BMW India is targeting sales of 20,000 units during the current calendar year, supported by one of its most aggressive product pipelines – with 27 launches across BMW’s entire portfolio in India. "We've already started the year strongly with launches like the M440i, the X3 and the upcoming X6 M60. But we're far from done. There are several exciting introductions still to come."

Marketing will continue to play a central role in supporting that ambition. "Our strategy remains consistent—invest across above-the-line media, strengthen experiential marketing and back everything with a robust product launch calendar." 

Yet Barar insists BMW does not measure success purely through sales volumes. He says, "Our performance indicates that we should reach 20,000 units but numbers alone don't define success for us. We measure our success by how customers perceive the brand, how much they love the brand and how loyal they remain as they move from one BMW to another."

For BMW India, that philosophy underpins every aspect of its marketing strategy—from personalised campaigns and immersive brand experiences to investments in AI and electric mobility.

As India's luxury market continues to evolve, the company is betting that premium experiences, customer-centric innovation and sustained brand investment will prove to be its strongest competitive advantages.

"We're not done yet," Barar said with a smile. "The best is still to come."