India made BMW to roll out on March 29

New Delhi: The first 3-Series models of German-based luxury carmaker BMW will be rolled out from its Indian facility at Chennai on March 29, while the 5-Series will be rolled out in June.

BMW has set an initial production target of around 1,500 cars from the Chennai facility.

The Chennai facility, set up at an investment of over Euro 20 million, has a capacity to produce 1,500-1,700 cars annually.

Addressing the BMW annual account conference in Mumbai on Wednesday, BMW Group Chairman Norbert Reithofer said, "we are commencing production in India later this month with an assembly unit that will produce around 1,500 units."

BMW also aims to increase the car sells India this year from 257 units sold last year.

BMW Group's General Manager (Regional Marketing) for Asia Pacific, Christoph von Tschirschnitz told PTI, "We have set a target to touch the 1,500-units sales mark in 2007 with the launch of the Chennai plant later this month."

However, Indian customers looking forward to place orders for the BMW Mini models, which is a small car, will have to wait till 2009.

BMW Mini's Vice President (Brand Management) Kay Segler said, "We are looking forward to introducing Mini in India by 2009, for which tests are already in the process."

BMW India Private Ltd, the Indian subsidiary, has set up a sales and corporate office in Gurgaon, Haryana, which is being headed by Peter Kronschnabl.

The company has tied up with Schenker and NYK Group for logistics support for the Chennai plant where it will assemble the manufactured parts of 3-Series and 5-Series models supplied from their global facilities.

"The company is setting up a warehouse in Mumbai for spare-parts distribution in a rented facility, moreover, 90 per cent of the often used spare-parts will be available with the dealers of the BMW," von Tschirschnitz said.

The company is yet to appoint a national logistics support partner for its far stretched plant in Chennai, warehouse in Mumbai and the biggest market and corporate office in national capital territory of Delhi.

"The company has begun marketing for the car by rolling out a dealer network, with seven dealers from January 2007, to cover the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore," von Tschirschnitz said.

Chennai plant will be the fifth Asian plant of the company after China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

BMW Group's Chairman Norbert Reithofer, along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi would launch the first 3-Series model cars, to be rolled out from Chennai facility, on March 29.