BMW vs Merc: It's one-all

BMW tops super luxury segment, DaimlerChrysler luxury.

BMW has been doubly successful in selling super luxury brand Rolls-Royce in India compared with its rival DaimlerChrysler. BMW has sold seven Rolls-Royce Phantoms""one a month"" since its launch in April 2005.

In contrast, DaimlerChrysler India has sold three Maybachs""one in five months""since August 2004. Navnit Motors, BMW dealer in Mumbai, expects to sell 10 Phantoms before January.

However, the trend is just the opposite at a lower level""the luxury car segment. Here, Daimler has scored over BMW. It sold about 135 S-Class cars during the last 11 months (January to November), while BMW could sell only 45 of the 7 series for the period.

According to auto analysts, the price factor has worked in favour of the Rolls-Royce Phantom as the Maybach is priced at a premium to it: the Maybach carries a price tag of Rs 5.5-6 crore, while the Rolls-Royce Phantom is priced at Rs 3-5 crore.

Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani owns a Maybach. Yohan Poonawalla, director, Poonawalla Group of Companies, was the first buyer of the Rolls Royce Phantom.

"The Maybach is showing slack sales compared with the Rolls-Royce Phantom as it is priced at a premium. The number of prospective buyers for the Maybach will also be less compared with the Phantom," said a DaimlerChrysler official.

However, auto analysts said since the buyers of these cars were super rich, they would not prefer the Phantom to the Maybach just because the car was cheaper by a few crores.

"A buyer who is passionate about the Maybach will only go for the Maybach, while a buyer who swears by the Phantom will choose only the Phantom," said an auto analyst.

DaimlerChrylser has sold more number of S-Class cars compared with BMW's 7 series during the year. A bigger dealer network of DaimlerChrysler was cited as the reason for increased sales of S-Classes, said the analyst.

Daimler has a network of 22 dealers compared with BMW's three in the country.

DaimlerChrysler has its own manufacturing facility at Pimpri near Pune. BMW will soon have its own car manufacturing unit near Chennai.