German luxury car maker BMW has said that it will increase its investments in India to Rs 1.8 billion by end of 2012.
The company, which commenced its Indian operations by setting up a production plant near Chennai in March 2007, has invested close to Rs 1.1 billion, BMW India said in a statement here.
"Till September 2010, BMW Group invested Rs 110 crore. BMW Group's investment in India will be increased to Rs 180 crore by the end of 2012", it said.
The BMW Chennai unit produces the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series sedans in petrol and diesel variants. By end of this year, the Chennai plant would also produce BMW X1, it said.
The Chennai facility has the capacity to produce 5,400 units per year on a single shift basis and the unit employs about 400 people. Besides the production plant, the company also has a central spare parts warehouse unit in Mumbai.
The company said it rolled out its 10,000th unit from the Chennai facility today.
For 2011, the company also plans to ramp up dealership network from the present 18 to 21 outlets and would create 1,200 jobs in dealer and service network, it said.
"Having taken the lead in the premium segment for the first time last year, we aim to maintain our leading position in the Indian market by now embarking on the second wave of our India strategy," BMW India President Andreas Schaaf said.
On the roll out of the 10,000th car here, BMW Chennai Plant Managing Director Juergen Eder said, "The BMW Plant Chennai team is very excited with the achievement of this milestone in less than four years and looks forward to fulfil the increasing demand for BMW cars in India."
Including the Chennai plant, the company has 24 production facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries with an employee base of over 96,000, the statement added.