Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Pricey small car soon to hit India

BMW Mini
It has only been less than a year since the cheapest car in India arrived. Indian automaker Tata Group came out with the Nano that is considered as the cheapest small car in the world at only $2,500. Soon to be juxtaposed with the least expensive car in India is the very pricey BMW Mini that is expected to carry a burning tag price of $49,000. Now that’s a lot of compared to Nano, according to my colleagues in Autopartswarehouse.

The established German automobile company BMW, however, said that there is still no definite date as to when this very expensive compact car will be released in the Indian car market. As of posting, BMW is gearing up to study if launching the pricey BMW Mini is something possible.

“Mini is not just a car. It is the brand,” said Peter Kronschnabl, who is the president of BMW for India subsidiary of the company based in Chennai. “The team that carried out the feasibility study for the launch of Mini has submitted its report. It is being studied by our headquarters.”

India's Tata Nano, world's cheapest small car

The BMW President for India also added that upcoming BMW Mini will likely cost two million rupees or so, which is equivalent to $49,443.8. If the company pushes through with distributing the vehicle in the Indian automobile market, the new small from the Germany car maker will surely be the most expensive vehicle in its category for such hefty amount.

Autopartswarehouse also told this blog that aside from launching the luxury-priced BMW Mini, the company has also plans of making the BMW X6 available in India. According to Kronschnabl, the BMW model, however, will still take more than three years before it reaches the dealerships in India as homologation of a BMW vehicle takes half a year or so.

For the decent operations of the automaker in this country, BMW has pushed to increase its production of units every year. There is a target 3,000-unit production now compared from last year’s 1, 300-unit production. The company is set to launch its other models and this includes the following: the BMW M3 Coupe, BMW M6 Coupe, BMW M5 Sedan, BMW M6 Convertible, BMW X5 4.8i, BMW 6 series individual and BMW 7 series individual, among others. These upcoming vehicles from the German automaker will join the current products of the company in India such as the BMW 3, 6, and X series, to name a few.

Source: Economic Times/Indian Times.

Posted by autopartswarehouse at 01:03:59 | Permalink | No Comments »