BMW’s luxury models- Gran Turismo(Suv), X6M(sports coupe) and super luxury sedan 760Li- adored the Auto Show. Gran Turismo comes as a limited version @Rs63lakhs; X6M costs Rs1.29 crore and the 5th generation BMW 7 series 760Li costs Rs1.3 crore. BMW had a good stint in 2009 by leading the luxury segment. India happened to be the most successful market for BMW, said its President for India.
Mercedes had to lag behind in this segment that BMW could expand its presence by 40% in luxury car sector. SUV X1 was available at the Auto Expo; it will be imported as completely knocked down unit to be delivered out from Chennai plant from 2010. For BMW, X1 is a milestone in the Indian context; further investments will be made in Chennai plant and in Financial services. There will b hiring of additional work force in the unit, he said.
BMW’s sale volume for 2009 was 3619 though the Chennai unit has the production capacity of 3000 units per shift. The Chennai plant produces cars under 3 and 5 series while cars under 6 and 7 series are imported. BMW has acquired license to deal finance under NBFC.