The Hindu Business Line : BMW aims to sell 2,000 vehicles this year

Kolkata, April 25 BMW, the world’s largest luxury carmaker, has set itself a target of selling 2,000 vehicles in India this year to realise its ambition of becoming the “market leader” in this segment by 2010, BMW’s India unit President, Mr Peter Kronschnabl, said here.

In January, BMW had raised its manufacturing capacity in its Chennai plant from 1,700 to 3,000 units on a single-shift basis.

The German carmaker, whose Indian unit assembles 3 and 5 series cars with a price tag of Rs 26.7 lakh to Rs 42 lakh, aims to raise sales by 44 per cent this year from 1,387 units it sold in 2007.

BMW, which competes with European rivals DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen in the premium car market in India, also imports its 7 series in India. The company, however, does not have any plans to assemble the 7 series in Kolkata, said Mr Ralf Bissinger, Director, Sales and Marketing.

“In the imported variety, we can provide more variety and options to the customer, which is not possible if we assemble it here since the cargo reserved for nine months does not allow that flexibility,” he said.

The luxury car segment, defined as more than Rs 25 lakh, is expected to more than double by 2010 from 4,400 units in 2007, he added.

No second plant

Mr Kronschnabl also confirmed that BMW had no plans of setting up a second plant in the near future, stating that the expansion in the Chennai plant will fully look after its growth plans in India.

BMW also does not have plans to launch its premium small-car brand ‘Mini’ in 2009-10 in India since “the market is not yet ready” for the launch, he said.

The carmaker is also looking at sourcing components from India. “We have set up a team to examine availability of forging and casting material for use in other global units,” Mr Kronschnabl said.

At the Chennai plant, 10 per cent of the components are sourced from India, while car horns made in India are currently supplied to global units, he added.

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