Luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) has overtaken its arch rival Mercedes Benz by selling 270 cars and sports utility vehicles (SUV) in the country. The company also launched a luxury SUV, X6 in diesel and petrol model with price tag of Rs 65.9 lakh and Rs 82.9 lakh and hoped to attain supremacy in the luxury car segment in coming times.

Peter Kronschnabl, president, BMW India said, "We were able to take the lead in January thanks to the success of the 3 and 5-Series. Around April we will get a clearer picture of market demand and will be in a better position to predict on following months."

BMW sold 994 units of the 5 and 6 Series sedans, with price tag between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 85.5 lakh, in the current financial year against 490 units sold during the same period last year. In contrast, Mercedes sold 883 units in the current financial year as against 810 units, reporting sale increase of just 9 per cent.

Mr. Kronschnabl said, "Our customers are not that different from our competitors but the key to our success lies in the fact that we have been able to create the environment at our dealerships, service points, buying experience, which is on par with our global standards."

BMW had launched three models new 7-Series, new 3-Series and the diesel variant of X3 in January.