BMW X1, Premium Selection and more

After Mercedes made its foray into the lucrative Indian pre-owned car business it is now time for the other big luxury car segment player BMW to follow in the footsteps. The cost-sensitive Indian car market has a lucrative pre-owned car segment. To make the most of the opportunity BMW is soon going to open its BMW Premium Selection outlet by the end of this year.

See More BMW X1 Pictures                                                                                                                                   Read More on BMW X1

Apart from a pre-owned car store the company is also going to launch a brand new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the Indian market early next year. The much awaited BMW X1 is will hit Indian showrooms early next year. BMW has already stared the production of BMW X1and with a price tag of Rs 25,00,000 it will be a tough competitor for a number of SUVs in and around the Rs 20 lakh plus segment.

Right now the Indian car market is growing at a rapid pace and the current value of the luxury segment alone is estimated to go up to 15,000 units as against last year’s 9,000 units.

See More BMW X1 Pictures                                                                                                                                   Read More on BMW X1

To be able to cater to the rising demand of the fast growing market BMW is also going to double the current production capacity of its plant in Chennai. According to a statement by Andreas Schaaf, BMW India president, “Our first showroom (for pre-owned cars) will be in Gurgaon, and later in Mumbai and Chennai. For increasing our production capacity in Chennai, we have already acquired additional land there.”

BMW has tough competitors in Mercedes Benz and Audi and at present BMW holds 39 per cent of the Indian luxury car market.

See More BMW X1 Pictures                                                                                                                                   Read More on BMW X1

BMW churns out 5,400 units yearly from its factory in Chennai. This year the Indian luxury car market has seen great demand and by October BMW had already rolled out 4,741 units as against a year ago when it managed to produce 3,600 units. The company is likely to produce cars to the tune of 5,000-6,000 units this year, which would translate to a growth figure of more than 60 per cent. BMW’s October sales figure has been 753 cars.

BMW is also paying extra attention to expanding its footprint in the country. The German car maker will add more depth to its dealership network in the country and is likely to have at least 22 outlets from its existing 18 by 2011. The plan includes starting 200 new showrooms in the coming three years.