Ankit sharma : BMW’s sale has been the best in 2023 so far. What is your strategy to break these numbers in 2024?
Vikram pawah: We are a confidant on the acceptance and demand of the new products we have launched in 2023. The supply of these products was limited in 2023. In such a situation, when the products are supplied to the full scale in 2024 throughout the year, we hope that good growth will be seen. Apart from this, we will launch 19 new products in 2024. These include 13 cars and 6 two-wheelers. The arrival of these new products in the market will also increase demand. It is expected that the positive sentiment in the industry remains intact. Consumer confidence also looks good this year. If we look at all these things, it is expected that in 2024 we will perform better than 2023.
Ankit sharma: India is fast moving towards green energy. The government is also getting the support of the government. So far, how much EV sales of BMW have been in India, what is the plan and target about the company’s EV segment?
Vikram pawah : BMW has been working on electric cars for the last 10 years. The company launched its first electric car BMW i3 in 2013. This shows that we were already serious about electric cars. In 2023, BMW sold a total of 14,172 cars, out of which electric cars are 10 %. We have sold 1,474 electric cars in 2023, which is 325 % more than 2022. In 2023, BMW IX was our top selling luxury electric vehicle. By 2025, our target is to increase the share of EV sales in overall sales to 25 %. We will launch 2 new electric cars in 2024.
Ankit sharma: Until a year ago, the initial range of electric cars was 300 to 400 kilometers, although it has now increased to 600 kilometers on average, which BMW has also achieved. A Chinese company has claimed to have won a range of 1 thousand kilometers. Is BMW also working to achieve such a range?
Vikram pawah: The range of all our eV vehicles is quite regional, which comes between 300 and 600 kilometers. However, I would like to tell EV buyers that the range is just one number. The big question is customer’s usage. We prepare cars for them keeping our customer usage in mind. If most users travel only 40 to 50 kilometers, then there is no use of additional range for them.
If I give you an example, our mini customer who does not even drive a daily car, on average these customers drive their car once or twice a week. The range of 280 to 300 km is also enough for these customers.
The 1 thousand kilometer range can be correct for Europe and other countries where people’s daily travel is between 90 and 100 kilometers. Most people in India have a travel between 40 and 50 kilometers. Our BMW Customers also have the same trend. If we talk about our battery technology in electric mobility, then we are already on the 5th generation and are working on the sixth generation. We are already operating at advanced level. ,
Ankit sharma: Do you think people in India are avoiding buying EV due to range and charging infrastructure. What would you recommend to EV buyers?
Vikram pawah: Electric mobility does not work on just one dimensions range. Apart from this, Efficiency is also a factor, which works, such as how quickly the battery is charged? With charging speed, Efficiency of the Battery, Life of the Battery are many elements that are quite important with the range. We offer a car to our customers by making a package of all these things. As a citizen, we assure our customers that the car battery will work at 100 % performance level for 7 years.
As far as charging is concerned, we give free AC charging stations to our BMW customers, which he can install in our parking space. In such situations, our customers will not need any external charging station. However, if BMW Bayers goes to Inter City or long distance, they can use our 56 fast charging stations in 33 cities.
We also inform our customers about charging stations through the website and app, so that they can plan their route. However, I would advise EV buyers to buy EV car, not looking at their usage pattern, not seeing the range of the car. Just as we choose the engine power of the car according to our usage, EV buyers should choose the range according to their usage. If there is a charging station at all petrol pumps in India, then EV’s cell will definitely increase.
Ankit sharma : BMW India is getting a tough competition from Mercedes-Benz and Audi in India. Now there are reports that Tesla can also enter India. How will you be able to keep market share maintenance?
Vikram pawah : Tesla is present worldwide, we also have our presence on the global scale. The arrival of new companies in the market is beneficial. This not only increases competition in the market, but also increases demand. We have been in India for 16 years. We heartily welcome Tesla. India is one of the important markets for BMW and we are committed to providing our best technology cars to Indians.
