The Hindu Business Line : BMW to augment global sourcing share from India

Pune, Dec. 20 Luxury carmaker BMW, which recently set up the International Purchasing Office in the country, is exploring sourcing of global requirements from India.

In an informal talk, Mr Peter Kronschnabl, President, BMW India, said the purchasing office would focus on the development of exports from India to the BMW Group International Production Network and thus increase the sourcing share from India in the coming years.

He said the activities include identification and assessment of potential suppliers and exploring procurement of production material (components), as well as IT and engineering services.

He, however, noted that it was still in the initial stages and no contract has been signed as yet. Purchasing offices have been set up in Japan, Singapore, China and Gurgaon in India for the sourcing of components.

New showroom

Mr Peter was in the city on Wednesday to inaugurate the BMW showroom. The Bavaria Motors has a showroom of 6,000 sq ft and workshop of 20,000 sq ft. The workshop has three service bays and with a staff strength of 26 employees can service four vehicles in a day.

Mr Vishal Agarwal, Managing Director, Bavaria Motors, said that the current location would be operational for few years after which they would be shifting to a new location with 4S (sales, services, spare-parts and showroom), which would need an investment of Rs 25 crore.

The showroom would display the 3 Series and 5 Series that would be produced at the Chennai plant and 6 Series, 7 Series and X3, which are available in the country as CBUs (completely built-up units).

Chennai plant

The Chennai plant, from March 2007, produces the BMW 3 Series, 5 Series sedans in petrol and diesel variants. The plant has a capacity to produce 1,700 units per year on one-shift basis and has serviced 1,200 customers during the year.

Mr Vishal, commenting on the Pune market, said that it was expecting sales of about 150 BMWs by the first year; they have already received nearly 20 orders so far.

Mr Kronschnabl also said that a feasibility study is being done on the debut of Mini on Indian roads and would be completed by the first quarter of the next year. The car is not expected to be showcased at the Auto Expo 2008, he noted.

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