BMW India achieves 100% growth in sales

Luxury car maker BMW India has achieved 100 per cent growth in its car sales this year.BMW India have already sold 2,703 cars till November and aims to sell 2,800 by the end of this year against 1,387 last year, company’s president Peter Kronschnabi told reporters.He, however, said the growth is likely to dip next year due to recession.The car maker plans to strengthen its dealer network by stepping into tier II markets of Ludhiana, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur and Coimbatore by 2009 end, he said after inaugurating BMW’s first showroom in Kerala at Kochi. Presently, 12 dealers represent BMW in the Indian market. Asked if recession will impact sales in India, he said in the BMW’s global car market, Indian market is less affected.In the last calendar year, 4,300 cars were sold in the luxury segment and this year 7,000 cars have been sold and BMW’s market share was 39 per cent, he said. There were no plans on slashing prices, he said.The BMW’s Chennai plant has a production capacity of 3,000 units per year on a single shift basis, he said. Asked if production capacity was likely to be increased, he said, “We have a possibility of further enlarging production if market requires.” There are no plans to export from India, he said adding the company first has to fully establish itself in the country. In 2007 and 2008, demand for BMW vehicles in India had increased and the years also marked the most successful market entry for BMW in any country recently, Kronschnabi said.The automaker has so far invested Rs 1.1 billion in India. It has established the BMW headquarters in Gurgaon, a central warehouse in Mumbai and the Chennai plant.The cars produced at the BMW plant in Chennai have the customary premium quality and the global standards of BMW are also consistently applied to production in India.Kerala was an important market and will help fuel BMW’s growth plans in India, he said.