BMW to unveil three new EV models in India

BMW will introduce three new EV models in India as it increases its focus on battery-only vehicles in the country.

The German automaker said it is targeting EVs to make up a quarter of its Indian sales in 2026, after reaching 23% in Q4 2025.

BMW currently leads the luxury EV segment in India, with company estimates putting its share at around 60%.

The company sold about 18,000 vehicles in India in 2025, with 3,700 of those being EVs.

BMW’s iX1, assembled locally and priced at about 5 million rupees (US$66,600), was its best-selling EV model last year.

The company is investing 4 billion rupees (US$48 million) to improve its dealership network and charging infrastructure in India, where imported EVs face tariffs of 110%.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

BMW holds 60% of luxury EVs (company estimate), yet cars above USD 35,000 sold 2,400 in 2023 and may reach 100,000 by 2030 1.
BMW moved 3,700 EVs in 2025, but India saw electric models at 2.5% of 4.3 million sales in 2024 2.
Tariffs on Completely Built Unit (CBU) cars over USD 40,000 barely change, because the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC is a levy on imports) offsets the scrapped Social Welfare Surcharge exemption 3.
The locally assembled iX1 pays 15% under the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) rate versus 100% for a CBU and led sales at 5 million rupees, which shows domestic assembly suits a price sensitive market 1.

India has 26,000 public chargers, one per 235 EVs, with the ratio worsening from 12:1 in 2024 to 20:1 in 2025 4 5.
Rules call for fast chargers every 100 km on highways 6. Uptime sits near 60 to 70 percent due to grid strain or maintenance, while BMW runs 12 highway sites.
Charging point operators (firms that operate stations) with real estate developers can target BMW routes like Delhi–Jaipur and Delhi–Agra, piloted as e-highways (routes with EV chargers) 7, by installing 150 kW+ Combined Charging System Type 2 fast chargers at premium stops or hotels.
Software teams can build interoperable roaming platforms (a single account with one payment method works across multiple charging networks) to connect fragmented networks. Failed sessions hit 73% of Indian EV owners, a sore spot for premium buyers 5.