The Indian government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been quite vociferous about the “Make in India” campaign and it has become highly popular in the country. Stalwarts from all industries have started contributing to the cause and that includes automakers as well. The two-wheeler market is showing great enthusiasm with Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki already producing some bikes in India and others in line to join the campaign. Now, in a big move, German giant BMW Motorrad is set to be a new addition to the bandwagon, according to a report by Autocar India.
BMW Motorrad has not officially entered the Indian market but reports suggest that the company will be looking at local assembling for a few of its models. The models in contention for being assembled in India are BMW F700 and F800 GS. Also, the assembling will be done at the firm’s plant in Chennai. Industry experts feel that this move is going to be healthy for both BMW and the Indian market in terms of progress. From the point of view of BMW Motorrad, the German giant will be able to price its products competitively.
Some sources suggest that BMW is going to assemble both cars and bikes at the Chennai plant. This move by BMW, though, is hardly is surprising as a large number of brands are turning their faces towards India, especially in the two-wheeler market. India is country with a population in excess of a billion and generating sales from even a fraction would be profitable and beneficial for companies.
The “Make in India” campaign is the brainchild of the Narendra Modi-led Indian government and promotes production of goods in India. According to the official website, this movement is, “A major new national program. Designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure.”
During the introduction of this campaign, the Indian PM said, “We should dream of 'Made in India' products across the world. We need to encourage the manufacturing sector. We need to channelise the strength of the youth through manufacturing. Manufactured goods should have zero defect as also zero effect on environment," he added.”
