Luxury car makers Mercedes and Audi expect strong sales during the festive season.

The demand for luxury cars has increased rapidly in the country in the last few years. Luxury car companies like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus are expecting strong growth in sales during the festive season. These companies may achieve their highest volumes this year. India is becoming a major source of growth for these companies. Mercedes-Benz says that the festive season is looking better this year compared to last year. The company has started the festive season on a positive note with Onam. Mercedes has achieved its highest ever sales in India in the first half of the current year. The company has sold 8,528 units during this period. This is an increase of about 13 percent compared to the same period last year. The company has dominated the luxury car market of the country for the last several years. The launch of new and updated models has helped Mercedes in increasing the pace of sales. Apart from models with petrol and diesel engines, the company also has electric vehicles (EV). Earlier this year, the company had said that it would focus on top-end variants. The company is getting strong demand for these variants. In this category, Mercedes has vehicles like AMG SL55 Roadster, AMG GT 63 SE Performance and G-Class. Audi, one of the big companies in the luxury car market, is getting strong demand for models like A4, A6, Q3 and Q5. Audi said that in the first half of the current year the company has sold 3,474 units. This is an increase of 97 percent compared to the same period last year. Audi’s SUV sales are up 217 percent and performance cars are up nearly 127 percent. The company expects the sales momentum to continue during the festive season. Lexus also expects strong demand to continue in the luxury car market. The company has introduced limited editions of its sports coupe, LC 500h, for the festive season. It has also started booking for its new multipurpose vehicle LM. This is a new category for Lexus in the country.