“The first showroom will be opened in Chennai in April and the next one in Gurgaon in the third quarter of the year,” president Peter Kronschnabl said.
BMW India will start its pre-owned car business, called BMW Premium Selection, by April 1, president Peter Kronschnabl said here on Wednesday. The company had earlier announced it
would sell pre-owned cars this year.
“The first showroom will be opened in Chennai in April and the next one in Gurgaon in the third quarter of the year,” Kronschnabl said. He added that these would be the only pre-owned car outlets in 2010. BMW will leverage its existing dealer network to push its pre-owned car business. BMW currently has 17 dealer locations across the country, which will go up to 24 this year.
“We are looking at selling 300 pre-owned cars in the first year,” Kronschnabl stated. “We will encourage our dealers to trade in used cars of other brands as well,” he said. Once the pre-owned car dealer network is spread across the country, he added, nearly 30% of BMW India’s sales could come from pre-owned cars.
Since its inception in India in 2007, BMW has sold about 8,000 cars and in 2009, 3,619 cars. It is looking to up the number to 4,000 this year.
BMW is looking to make financing for its used cars easier through BMW Financial Services. “Most banks charge a premium of 5% for a used car. Our rates will be close to those for new cars,” said Kronschnabl. BMW is looking for a nod for a non-banking finance company status for BMW Financial Services by May.
“We should start operations by mid-2010 and people interested in buying other brands are also welcome,” he said. BMW Financial Services
will offer retail finance to its customers, commercial finance to its dealers and insurance in association with Bajaj Allianz.
BMW will also start rolling out the new 5-Series range from its Chennai plant in July and launch the X1 in the market by the end of the year. “We are looking to sell 500 X1 units in the first year,” Kronschnabl said.
Asked of its price, he said it would be around Rs 25 lakh.
Talking of BMW’s workforce, he said the current headcount of 200, including 160 at the plant, would be increased by 30% this year.
The writer is in Munich at the invitation of BMW
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