Indian Autos blog

Was The Ultimate Driving Machine always your dream car? Did you always want to flaunt a BMW key in front of your friends but never had enough moolah to buy one? Well, there is some good news for you. BMW India has decided to enter the pre-owned car market from this September.

As the growth of Automobile Industry in India slows down, BMW India has decided to fuel their growth with pre-owned luxury cars.

Andreas Schaaf, BMW India President -

“There is a huge potential in pre-owned car market in India and its a very lucrative business for us. Therefore, BMW India is planning to set up its pre-owned car selling business in September this year. We are manufacturing and assembling BMW cars from 2007 and feel that we have enough opportunities to focus on this pre-owned car market”

The second hand car market is big business for auto manufacturers. Most of them even have dedicated channels to push pre-owned cars. Mercedes India has been selling pre-owned cars from its official showrooms since 2010. It was only about time BMW entered the fray. We are also sure that an announcement from Audi would be just around the corner.

The BMW line-up in India just got wider with addition of the X6 M, 5er GT and 760 Li

BMW launched the Gran Tourismo and the X6 M in India. The BMW Gran Turismo is priced at Rs. 63,00,000 (only 100 will be sold)

The BMW X6 M is priced at Rs. 1,30,00,000 and the BMW 760Li is priced at Rs. 1,29,00,000.

We spoke to Peter Kronschnabl, President BMW India about the vehicles and their plans. For more info on the vehicle’s launch, click through for the press release.

On the BMW Megacity cars -

They will be different compared to the Mini brand. The two brands (Mini, Megacity) won’t conflict each other. The Megacity won’t come to India and BMW has no plans of assembling it here locally.

On the Mini Brand -

As of 2010, there are no plans to bring the Mini brand of cars to India.

On Launching the BMW 3 Series Corporate Edition -

The Corporate Edition might be aggressively priced but it is a profitable model. If it wasn’t profitable, they would not have launched it.

On the target customers of the Gran Tourismo and USP -

It seems like BMW already know who they are going to sell the allotted vehicles to. Mr. Kronschnabl with a smile said “I’m not answering this question” which naturally meant he knew the customers beforehand. He added rear seat comfort of a 7 Series is the standout feature of GT.

On the success of the Rolls Royce models -

Mr.Kronschnabl isn’t the spokesperson for RR, neither is he related to it directly. He said RR did better than its rivals since RR had worked very hard recently to revive the brand. RR also had the reputation of making the best luxury cars in the world and have an unmistakable identity.

On the sales of the M model line-up in India -

Kronschnabl agreed the M cars were never expected to add volumes to the BMW sales. The M cars are primarily for the fans of driving, those who want to get behind the wheel and experience power. The BMW Motorsport division satisfies the horsepower hungry beings in India, where ever they may be and how many ever there are.

On the target group of the new X1 -

BMW says it will sell the X1 to entrepreneurs, young and old as well as to people who are looking for a vehicle in this segment. This means the X1 will be the first BMW to many of its buyers when it goes on sale later this year.

click through for Image Slideshow and Press Release