Assembly to commence in late 2015 or early 2016.
Ahead of launching its first product in its joint venture with TVS Motor Company, BMW Motorrad is planning to assemble two models at its car assembly facility near Chennai, reports Autocar India. The assembly is expected to begin in late 2015 or early 2016.
The move will, apart from reducing prices considerably, also give a fillip to the component manufacturing industry in India and establish Chennai as a potential hub for two-wheeler parts in addition to playing host to multiple car and truck component manufacturers.
At the market level, the locally assembled bike will aid BMW to establish an image in the market before the BMW-TVS joint venture products begin arriving towards the end of 2015.
The two bikes in question are the BMW F700 GS and the BMW F800 GS, both being adventure bikes. The F700 GS is powered by an 800 cc inline two-cylinder engine that produces 75 bhp at 7,500 rpm and peak torque of 77 Nm at 5,300 rpm. The bike boasts of a top speed of 190 kph.
The F800 GS meanwhile is powered by an 800 cc parallel twin engine capable of making 85 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 83 Nm of peak torque at 5,500 rpm. The F800 GS has a similar top-speed to the F700 GS. In the US, the 2015 F700 GS has a starting price of $9,990 (Rs 6.25 lakh) and the 2015 F800 GS starts at $12,190 (Rs 7.63 lakh).
[Source - Autocar India]
