BMW targets 80% growth

German luxury auto maker BMW is targeting a 80 per cent growth in India this calendar. The company which managed to sell 82 units in the first eight months of the year expects to end the year at 150 units.

Inaugurating the third showroom in the country at Bangalore, the other two being in Delhi and Mumbai. Guenther Seemann, managing director BMW Group (Middle East) said, the company aims to have dealerships in all major cities in the country.

While he declined to elaborate on the road map, he indicated that dealerships could be in place in the next four years. BMW expects the Bangalore outlet to account for a third of the sales this year or about 50 units.

On an assembly plant in India, he preferred not to comment on the exploratory visits to several destinations like Vizag and Kochi by a BMW team. He only said, " India is a potential market. We are examining the issue. But it is impossible to predict a time frame now."

However, he reiterated BMW was here to stay in the long run, adding that the investments in the new showroom in Bangalore alone stands at $2 million.

The facility spread across 40,000 sq ft will showcase five of BMW's offerings, namely the 7 series, 6 series, 5 series and sports activity vehicles like the X5 and X3. Officials said, the prices will start at Rs 42 lakh for the X3 and go up to over Rs 60 lakh for the 7 series.

They added, based on current costings, the Bangalore facility will need to sell 200 units to break-even.

Also, the company could launch the mid-sized offering, the 3 series, soon. Globally BMW, it is learnt, will unveil the new 3 Series by January next and could bring it in to India as well.

However as the 3 series will be sub $40,000, it will need homologation. Officials said the company could consider launching other variants like the 1 series, provided the small car market in India had the potential to accept premium end models.