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The first bike under the BMW–TVS tie-up will be rolled out next year, Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group (India) said here on Wednesday.
Responding to reporters, von Sahr, who was in the city on Wednesday at the inauguration of BMW India’s second 4S dealership in Tamil Nadu, “KUN Exclusive”, maintained that the roll out of the first sub-500cc premium bike under this strategic cooperation with TVS should happen next year, refusing to elaborate more on the subject.
Earlier agreementHowever, it may be recalled that in early 2013, BMW Motorrad and TVS entered into a joint technical cooperation and manufacturing agreement to roll out the first product two years hence (that is, in 2015).
It included bikes in the above 200cc and sub-500cc range. Reverting to car dealership network, he said, “BMW India has 40 sales outlets across the country. We will be adding at least 10 more to the existing number of outlets by the end of 2015, looking primarily at tier II cities and emerging markets across India.”
The company’s plant in Chennai has the capacity to produce 14,000 cars a year.
BMW has invested around ₹3.9 billion in the plant and localised the production to a large extent.
Chennai facilityAnswering another query, he said of the 50,000 BMW cars on Indian roads, around 35,000–40,000 were in the premium segment and close to 95 per cent of these cars were rolled out from the company’s Chennai facility.
The company is optimistic about its growth in emerging markets.
However, von Sahr did not quantify the growth. He said that after the budget meeting earlier this year, though the industry expected some growth momentum, nothing much had happened yet.
New launchesOn new launches, he said that the company had, only in February this year, launched the i8 hybrid electric super car and the Mini 3-door Cooper S. “India is still not ready for pure electric cars. We need support for this.”
Director of KUN Exclusive Vasanthi Bhupati said that the outlet in Coimbatore was spread over 50,000 sq ft and integrated with after-sales service workshop.
The facility has 17 service bays (including mechanical, body and paint) and can service up to 1,275 cars a month.
The showroom will display 9 cars indoors including a special BMW Display area to feature high-end cars, she added.
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