Betting big on Indian auto market, German luxury car maker BMW India on Thursday said it would make huge investments for launch of new models and tapping the used-car market besides setting up a financial services division.
"We will invest $50 million over the next 24 months for developing the financial services division," BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl said after the national launch of BMW 330i (petrol) and 320d (diesel) Corporate Edition, variants of BMW 3 series Sedan.
BMW 330i is priced at Rs 33.40 lakh (Rs 3.34 million) and BMW 320d Rs 23.95 lakh (Rs2.395 million), ex-showroom Chennai.
"BMW has heavily invested in training and development of our associates at all levels across BMW India, BMW plant in Chennai, BMW Financial Services and we will continue to do so," he said.
He said the BMW Financial Services would be launched in Gurgaon as a 100 per cent subsidiary by mid-2010. "BMW Financial Services is presently seeking a license to operate as a Non-Banking Finance Company," he said.
The financial services division would offer solutions in retail financing for BMW customers as well as for multi-model customers, financing for fleet owners and commercial financing for BMW dealerships and multi-model dealerships, he said.
In addition, the company would also make investments for ramping up its Chennai facility for the production of its sports utility vehicle BMW X1 this year.
"This year we will launch the new BMW X1 in India. The new BMW X1 will also be CKD (Completely Knock Down) produced at the BMW plant (in Chennai) and it will be available by year-end," Kronschnabl said.
With this addition, the plant would produce BMW 3 Series, 5 Series and the by the end of 2010, the new BMW X1, he said.
However for the production X1 and for plant expansion the company would make 'significant' investments, Kronschnabl said, declining to elaborate.
The company would also venture into used car business this year by launching the "BMW Premium Selection" which would deal only with BMW cars.
"Only the finest BMW vehicles will be selected for this. To begin with, they must have been serviced by authorised BMW dealers and fitted with genuine BMW parts with a complete BMW service history. After a full inspection by BMW trained technicians, it would be ready for inspection by customers.
The vehicle would also have the BMW warranty," he said. The company has also planned to offer 'leasing' services for corporates and individuals under which new cars can be taken on lease for a period ranging from two to fours years.
At the end of the lease, the car may be delivered to the BMW Premium Selection where it would be considered as an used car for retailing, he said.
On the limited edition BMW Gran Turismo, unveiled at the 10th Auto Expo last month, he told PTI that the company had sold around 80 units so far against the target of 100.
<IFRAME src="http://pages.rediff.com/promote/Budget-2010/10567?bg=ffffff&orientation=badgepreviewH" frameBorder=0 width=222 scrolling=no height=82></IFRAME>
