BMW Mini was the center of attraction among the tourists at the recently ended 11th Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. In fact, it was the current Auto Expo which has made the earlier unrecognized Premium Hatchback segment in India, with the entry of BMW's Mini and Volkswagen Beetle. It has been reported in the Business Line that the BMW's iconic Mini brand has recorded 100 bookings in the first six days of the launch.
The report stated that the official said “We can sell around 200 units in the first year, as these models are all imported and orders have to be placed many months in advance. The highest demand is for the Countryman SUV and convertible variants.” In comparison, other iconic brands launched in the last two years have met with limited success. Volkswagen's Beetle (about Rs 21 lakh) has sold 59 units between April and December in this fiscal, while the Fiat 500 (about Rs 16 lakh) has been discontinued after selling a single unit in 2010-11.
BMW India also told it was not easy for us to convince the BMW, Germany headquarters to bring the Mini brand to India because of pricing and profitability issues. “We will showcase the entire range at the Auto Expo and will focus initially on brand building,” BMW India president Andreas Schaaf had said in a conversation in November. “After much discussion at the BMW board level over the last few years, we have managed to convince them.”
With five models available, prices for the Mini range are between Rs 25 lakh and 37 lakh. German carmaker BMW, which bought the brand in 1994, is opening a separate dealer network for Mini starting with Delhi and Mumbai this year. Mini was also recently spotted at one of the BMW's showroom in New Delhi, Click here for full story.
The report stated that the official said “We can sell around 200 units in the first year, as these models are all imported and orders have to be placed many months in advance. The highest demand is for the Countryman SUV and convertible variants.” In comparison, other iconic brands launched in the last two years have met with limited success. Volkswagen's Beetle (about Rs 21 lakh) has sold 59 units between April and December in this fiscal, while the Fiat 500 (about Rs 16 lakh) has been discontinued after selling a single unit in 2010-11.
BMW India also told it was not easy for us to convince the BMW, Germany headquarters to bring the Mini brand to India because of pricing and profitability issues. “We will showcase the entire range at the Auto Expo and will focus initially on brand building,” BMW India president Andreas Schaaf had said in a conversation in November. “After much discussion at the BMW board level over the last few years, we have managed to convince them.”
With five models available, prices for the Mini range are between Rs 25 lakh and 37 lakh. German carmaker BMW, which bought the brand in 1994, is opening a separate dealer network for Mini starting with Delhi and Mumbai this year. Mini was also recently spotted at one of the BMW's showroom in New Delhi, Click here for full story.
0 comments:
Post a Comment