By IANS,
Chennai : Luxury car manufacturer BMW India is confident of closing this calendar year with a sales of 2,800 units, up from 1,338 units sold in 2007.
Till last month, the company has sold around 2,700 cars.
“Our sales target for the current year is 2,800 units. The sales ratio between BMW 5 and BMW 3 series models is 55:45. The economic slowdown has not impacted our sales till now,” Stefan Hulsenberg, managing director, told IANS.
BMW India rolls out around 12 cars per day – a mix of BMW 3 and BMW 5 series – from its plant near Chennai.
“Unlike our other plants, we have implemented batch production system here as this plant assembles completely knocked down (CKD) kits. Each batch consists of 24 units. The production line is highly flexible,” he added.
The company has localised seats for both the models and the door panel for its BMW 5 series.
“Higher localisation will happen once we start procuring components from India for our global operations. We have finalised a few components about which I am not in a position to tell now,” Hulsenberg said.
On the possibility of launching the luxury small car Mini in India, he said, “The feasibility study is still on and it may not be before 2010.”