Rolls Royce likely to outsource R&D, design services to India

Super luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is likely to source design and R&D services from India.

"Rolls-Royce would look at the option of outsourcing some of the designing, prototyping and R&D to our parent BMW's R&D centre to be set up in India. This will help us in achieving a high degree of customisation of our cars to Indian conditions, without compromising on the quality," said Colin Kelly, regional director, Asia Pacific, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Kelly, however, denied Rolls-Royce having plans to manufacture or assemble units in India.

He was in India to inaugurate Rolls-Royce's first dealership in Mumbai, which will be owned and operated by Navnit Motors. Earlier, Rolls-Royces were sold through Navnit's BMW dealership.

Rolls-Royce has sold seven Phantom saloons in India in the last 18 months, priced in the range of Rs 3-5 crore. Its parent, BMW, will invest Rs 110 crore (¤20 million) to build an assembly unit near Chennai and a wholly-owned sales subsidiary in Delhi. It will also spend money to set up an R&D and design centre in the country.

BMW will employ 200-300 people in the country. Another 600-odd jobs are likely to be created through the dealership and sales network. The production and sales subsidiary will be fully owned by the BMW Group and is expected to roll out its first vehicle by early 2007.