Being outpaced by the second position holder, the Indian subsidiary of BMW has now quoted, “second half of 2012 belongs to us”. The German luxury auto maker was pulled back to the second position by the indigenous brand Audi in the sales records of June 2012. Latter was able to surpass the former in the Indian auto industry for the first time since 2008. However, the difference in sales figures was just by 9 units, but the Munich based auto giant was never defeated by any of the luxury car makers since it initiated the operations in this region.
With auto makers pitching against each other, Indian industry has emerged into one of the leading auto markets of the world over a period of time by being a volume puller for most of the companies. During its initial phase, Audi was counted amid the ordinary luxury auto makers and in the present scenario, the epoch has completely changed and ameliorated with circumstances favouring the car maker.
Since BMW has been broken away from the pack, complemented with Mercedes-Benz and Volvo ready to play bullish on the India market, it will be quite difficult for the auto maker to regain its dominant stand. However, President of BMW India, Dr Andreas Schaaf believes that the company will again hit back the market with some of the innovative launches, which will widen the gap between the company and its contenders.
Bringing the strategy adopted by the German company in limelight, BMW will introduce the new 3 Series on July 27, 2012 in the Indian market with 5 different variants. The new models will be 328i Sport Line, 320D, 320 D Sport Line, 320D Luxury Line and the 320D Luxury Plus.
Among the mentioned models, the petrol version will be powered with a 2 litre turbo charged engine, having the potential to churn out the maximum power of 245 bhp with 350 Nm of peak torque. On the other hand, the diesel model will also hold a 2 litre four cylinder powertrain; however the outputs will be changed. With a maximum power of 184 bhp and 380 Nm of peak torque, the diesel model of BMW 3 Series will set new benchmark in its segment. Adding a feather to its hat, both the engines will be assimilated with an 8 speed ZF gearbox.
Although the outputs are breathtaking, the company has ensured that the emissions of the models are also at their minimum. According to the claims made by BMW, the 320d model will deliver an unmatched mileage of 18.88 kmpl, whereas the 328i will run 14.79 kmpl.
Following the league of launches, the car maker will then introduce the revamped version of X1, which was unveiled at the New York Motor Show. Analysts believe that the car will hit at the Indian shores somewhere near the festive season of 2012. Reworked BMW 7 Series (LCI) is also on the cards, which is anticipated to break the covers before the end of 2012.
Regarding the launch of facelifted model of BMW X6, the company officials hesitated to share the information, however the car is also expected to sparkle at the India showrooms before the end of this calendar year.
With a handful of new launches, it gives the impressions that the BMW is on a full swing to gain back the leverage over its rivals. Analysts believe that the company is playing too aggressively in the India market, which might bend the market trend in its favour.
