Car News in India

Luxury car manufacturers are targeting every corner of India. After having firmly established itself in the national capital of Delhi and financial capital of Mumbai, BMW has now turned its eyes on the southern metro of Chennai. German Luxury car manufacturer, BMW, has announced the opening of this exclusive BMW dealership mainly for its iconic cars. The dealership was inaugurated by President of BMW India, Mr. Peter Kronschnabl. The outlet is spread over 20,000 sq. ft. and is located at Pallavaram on GST road in Chennai.

The countrywide dealer for BMW, Kun Exclusive, will cater to all BMW-related activities like retailing BMW cars, BMW accessories, and BMW car servicing. The company also launched the luxury car M3 in Chennai along with the dealership inauguration. The car comes with a price tang of Rs 73 Lakh.

Talking to media persons after the announcement and launch, Mr. Kronschnabl said that the company would be setting up service centres in smaller cities to cater to a wider segment of customers. The outlets for these luxury cars will most likely be based in and around Coimbatore, Surat, and Jaipur initially. BMW will also open showrooms in Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Kolkata by June this year to initiate their initial plan of setting up 12 dealerships all around India by end of June 2009.

Replying to queries about the date of launch of the BMW Mini car, Peter said that the premium hatchback car will be launched after BMW gets a green signal from its international headquarter in Munich, Germany. When the Mini hits the market, it would be the costliest small car in India with a price tag starting at Rs 20 Lakh.

The company is also contemplating a training programme for drivers of its consumers. The drivers would be trained in handling the high-end cockpit of a BMW car. A pilot project was already held in November 2007 in educating customers on the nuances of driving high-performance cars.

BMW outdid its own expectation of selling 1000 cars in 2007 and clocked a sale of 1387 cars. This has encouraged the company to look at 2000 cars in 2008. It had already sold 470 units in the last two months. The company is looking to beat the traditional luxury car statement of India - Mercedes-Benz. The two brands are currently in close competition for the top position in the luxury car market, which is estimated to be at just 4000 units per year.