Want a BMW 3? You can get one for Rs16 lakh

BMW India on Thursday entered the pre-owned cars business with the launch of BMW Premium Selection, which will offer used cars not older than five years and which have run less than 1.2 lakh km.

The cars come with a warranty of 24 months or 2 lakh km, whichever is lower.

All BMW dealers across the country would begin the used car business within a year-and-a-half, said Andreas Schaff, president.
The company is looking at the business contributing a tenth of its India revenues going forward — a valuable proportion considering its target of selling 10,000 cars this calendar may not be achieved even though it grew 70% year on year till October-end.

“Till October-end we sold a total of 8,042 cars in India, accounting for 40% of the luxury car market. With the BMW Premium Selection, we are looking to enhance our position. But the market is sluggish and it may be tough to achieve the 10,000 unit mark,” said Schaaf.

In order to push used car sales, BMW is offering 13% interest rate for financing these cars through its financial services arm BMW Financial Services, against the prevalent market rate of about 18%.

Rival Mercedes Benz had entered the used car market last year with ‘Proven Exclusivity’.

To a question, Schaff said that other used cars, which are older than five years or do not fit into the criteria for inclusion in the BMW Premium Selection, would also be available with the dealers. Existing BMW owners can also trade in their cars for used BMWs.