BMW wants nearly one in three cars it sells in India to be electric

German luxury carmaker is targeting nearly a third of its sales from electric vehicles by the end of the calendar year supported by strong customer demand post the West Asia crisis.

Hardeep Singh Brar, President & CEO, BMW Group India, told ET the company is looking at locally assembling a second EV – the long-wheel base electric sedan BMW i5 (LWB) – in the country given strong traction.

“Last year, while the (share of electric in the) industry was at about 4–5%, we were at 21%. Now, the industry is moving to 6-7%, and we have moved to 26%. We are also launching the second (locally assembled) product, which is again a long wheelbase. With this, I think we should be able to take our electric share to to 30% plus”, Brar said.

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Brar said that the company’s to strategy expand its portfolio of EVs and LWB models has helped it outpace a largely flat luxury car market. The share of LWB in the company’s portfolio currently stands at 52%, and is set to climb further. “Two-thirds of our volumes henceforth will be long-wheelbase,” Brar said, adding that the strategy addresses a key customer pain point: rear-seat space. “Customers who don’t find enough space in the rear seat will also come to us,” he noted.

Cumulatively, 1.6 lakh cars BMW has sold in India to date, about 30,000 — or 20% — have been LWB variants. And the numbers are rising.

“We have been outclassing the competition for the last 4–5 years, with an average growth rate of more than 15–16%,” Brar said, adding that growth continued at a similar pace this year even as rivals posted flat or negative numbers.

In the first half of 2026, BMW’s retail sales rose 17% to 9,075 units. Mercedes Benz, however, retained the lead in retail sales with sales of 9,768 units till June 2026.

With 13 launches already completed this year and 12 more planned spanning sedans, SUVs and EVs, Brar is confident that the company will continue to grow in strong double-digits, faster than competition.