German premium car maker BMW today said it is targeting sale of up to 60,000 units in the next 10 years in the Indian market and will invest an additional Rs 70 crore by 2012.
BMW today launched its luxury car 6 Series in India, priced at Rs 95 lakh (ex-showroom).
The company's wholly owned subsidiary, BMW India, also announced launching its sports utility vehicle X3 within this year as a completely knocked down (CKD) unit from its Chennai facility.
"In the next 10 years, India's luxury car market is expected to grow ten times to up to 1.5 lakh units. We will certainly enjoy 35-40% of the market by then," BMW India President Andreas Schaaf told reporters here.
The Indian luxury car market stood at about 15,000 units in 2010 and the company sold 6,246 units to become the numero uno, he added
"We are stepping up investment in India. In the next two years, we will increase our investment to Rs 180 crore from the existing Rs 110 crore in the country," Schaaf said.
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The company has recently acquired additional land to enhance the size of its facility in Chennai to 40 acres, up from 22 acres earlier. BMW India recently hiked its production capacity to 10,000 units from 8,000 units.
"We will invest in the brand, network expansion and new products. We will continue to maintain leadership in the Indian luxury car market," he said.
As a part of the expansion plans, the company will also launch its SUV X3 as a CKD vehicle within this year.
He said the company will double its dealerships to 40 by 2012 from 20 at present.
Talking about its new 6 Series, Schaaf said,"It is an ultra-luxury car which will be available in India as a completely built unit."
In 2011, the company expects to increase its sales by over 30%, the rate at which the industry is expecting to grow, he said.
When asked if the company would increase the prices of its products assembled in India, due to new duty structure for CKD units, Schaaf said, "We cannot answer the question right now as we are in the process of looking at the new structure and see whether it will affect us."
The company currently assembles its luxury sedans -- 3 and 5 Series and SUV X1 at its Chennai facility.