BMW Motorrad sees India as key future market

BMW Motorrad, the premium motorcycle arm of German luxury car maker BMW Group, is betting on the potential of the Indian market, which it sees as one of its key strategic markets of the future.
The company started selling its premium range of motorcycles in India in 2017 and closed the year selling 252 units within nine months of launch. These bikes are priced in the range of Rs 15.6 lakh to Rs 29.9 lakh (ex-showroom).
At the ongoing Auto Expo, the company launched two more models, BMW F 750 GS priced at Rs 12.2 lakh and BMW F 850 GS tagged at Rs 13.7 lakh.

In the second half of this year, it will launch a range of entry level models under G310 range, which are produced in India through its long-term partnership with Chennai-based TVS Motor Co.
"Overall we see strong growth potential in the Indian market...We see India as one of the key, strategic markets of future," BMW Motorrad Vice-President - Marketing and Sales Timo Resch told PTI.
Buoyed by the response to the company's range of bikes in India, he said for a brand which has just entered the market, it has been "special".

Underlining the significance of getting its strategy right while entering India, Resch said, "It was really important for us to build the Indian market from the scratch instead of rushing into the market... it is important to build a solid foundation."

For a brand which is known worldwide for quality, technology, innovation, safety and also for bigger bikes, he said BMW Motorrad "wanted to make it sure that when we enter the Indian market we start top down and we have good dealer network".
In 2017, the company focussed on opening the right dealership through business partners for the long term and currently has seven dealers.
"By the end of 2018 we want to increase to 10 dealers and add at least four new models in the product portfolio," he said.
Elaborating on new products, Resch said,"We started top down and now we are widening the range.. the BMW F750 GS and BMW F850 GS are in the mid-range and entry point will be G310, which is locally produced."

BMW Motorrad has already launched the G310 range in other global markets, including Mexico, Brazil and Europe. It will hit the Indian market later this year. The model is being produced at the plant of TVS.
On the late launch of the model in India, Resch said, "For the Indian market, we didn't want to enter the market as a brand that has only 310. We wanted to enter the Indian market as an aspirational BMW Motorrad brand like around the world, which is our key to success."
When asked if more models could be produced from the plant of TVS under their partnership, he said, "For the long term, we obviously have the vision to do more products with this cooperation but no decisions have been taken."

The start has been made with the 310R and GS version, which is the entry point of the brand.
"There are no clear decisions but lot of ideas of what else could be done in this cooperation but nothing has been decided so far," he said.