Ankit Sharma , BMW sale 2023 has been the best so far. What is your strategy to break these numbers in 2024?
Vikram Pawah: We are confident about the acceptance and demand for the new products we launch in 2023. The supply of these products was limited in 2023. In such a situation, when there will be full scale supply of products in the year 2024, we are hopeful that we will see good growth. Apart from this, we will launch 19 new products in 2024. These include 13 cars and 6 two-wheelers. With the arrival of these new products in the market, demand will also increase. It is hoped that the positive sentiment prevailing in the industry will remain intact. Consumer confidence also looks good this year. If we look at all these things then it is expected that we will perform better in 2024 than in 2023.
Ankit Sharma: India is rapidly moving towards green energy. The industry is also getting support from the government. What have been BMW’s EV sales in India so far? What are the company’s plans and targets for the 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, of which the share of electric cars is 10%. We have sold 1,474 electric cars in 2023, which is 325 percent more than in 2022. The BMW iX was our top selling luxury electric vehicle in 2023. 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: Till a year ago, the initial range of electric cars was 300 to 400 kilometers, however now it has increased to an average of 600 kilometers, which BMW has also achieved. A Chinese company has claimed to have achieved 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, falling between 300 to 600 kilometres. However, I would like to tell EV buyers that range is just a number. The big question is customer usage. We prepare cars for our customers keeping in mind their usage. If most of the users travel only 40 to 50 kilometers daily, then there is no benefit of additional range for them.
If I give you an example, our Mini customers who do not even drive their cars daily, on an average these customers drive their cars once or twice a week. A range of 280 to 300 kilometers is also enough for these customers.
A range of 1 thousand kilometers may be suitable for Europe and other countries where people’s daily travel is between 90 to 100 kilometers. In India, most people travel between 40 to 50 kilometers. This is also the trend of our BMW customers. If we talk about our battery technology in electric mobility, we are already on 5th generation and working on 6th generation. We are already operating at an advanced level. ,
Ankit Sharma: Do you think people in India are avoiding buying EVs due to range and charging infrastructure? What advice would you give to EV buyers?
Vikram Pawah: Electric mobility does not work on just one dimension range. Apart from this, efficiency is also a factor which works, like how quickly does the battery charge? Along with charging speed, efficiency of the battery, life of the battery are many such elements which are very important with the range. We offer our cars to our customers as a package of all these things. For example, we assure our customers that the car battery will work at 100% performance level for 7 years.
As far as charging is concerned, we provide our BMW customers with a free AC charging station, which they can get installed in their parking space. In such a situation, our customers will not need any external charging station. However, if BMW buyers travel inter-city or long distances, they can use our 56 fast charging stations across 33 cities.
We also provide information about charging stations to our customers through our website and app, so that they can plan their route. However, I would advise EV buyers to buy an EV car considering their usage pattern and not on the range of the vehicle. Just as we choose the engine power of a car according to our usage, similarly EV buyers should choose the range according to their usage. If there is a charging station at every petrol pump in India then the sales of EV will definitely increase.
Ankit Sharma : BMW India is facing 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 maintain market share?
Vikram Pawah : Tesla has a worldwide presence, we also have our presence on a global scale. The entry of new companies in the market is only 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.
