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BMW Group India on Thursday said it is taking the next major step in its product offering with pure-electric mobility and will launch products in the next 180 days. This includes the BMW iX in 30 days, Mini Electric in 90 days and BMW i4 in 180 days.
The company will deliver on its commitment to sustainability making comprehensive use of natural and recyclable materials and they will be produced with 100 per cent green electricity with no use of rare earth metals or raw materials from deep-sea mining, Vikram Pawah, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMW Group India, told BusinessLine .
Workers’ unrest erupts at BMW’s luxury car plant near Chennai
“You will see a lot of customer oriented technology, we are calling as ‘Shy Tech’ (or stealth technology) which is basically, the features are there but they are not visible, they are visible when you want them to be. Basically all those things are sitting there but they are not intruding in your eyes, not in the way you interact with the car, but they are right there when you need them,” Pawah said in an interview.
Shy Tech in BMW iX
For instance, Shy Tech in the BMW iX will include intelligence panel in the BMW kidney grille with integrated sensors, camera and radar tech; proximity sensors integrated discreetly into the black body edging at the front and rear; flush-fitted door openers; filler neck for windscreen washer fluid under front BMW logo; and rear-view camera with cleaning system integrated into rear BMW badge.
At home on the road and the track
The iX is the first BMW vehicle without any numerals in its model designation. The “iX” stands for the first BMW electric all-wheel drive vehicle (SAV – Sports Activity Vehicle), he said adding the BMW iX is the BMW Group’s new technology flagship. Though the cars will be imported as completely built units (CBUs), they will be high on technology and no compromise on safety, he said.
Local production
“Our policy has been to locally produce for local consumption and that is why we set up our plant 15 years ago when we set up the capacities for catering to India. We localise more than 50 per cent of content in our local productions. What we are looking at is some kind of mechanism where you can bring these technologies much earlier before the demand picks up, with this rapidly changing technology right now,” he said.
Pawah said the idea is to leapfrog India into the latest technologies with more products so that companies can make them locally in near future and for that need some support from the government as well – may be a short window of some rebate on the taxes.
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