BMW Launches Mini Countryman Diesel in India
The German auto major, BMW that commenced local assembly of Mini Countryman in India at its Plant near Chennai, has now rolled out the Mini Cooper Countryman D (Diesel) model in India. Launched in two versions- the Countryman and Countryman high, they will be sold at Rs. 25.60 lakh and 28.9 lakh respectively (ex-showroom, Mumbai).
The Mini Countryman is already sold in petrol version in India, now with the diesel model, it becomes the first Mini model to have diesel powertrain. The car will be brought in India through completely knocked down (CKD) route and then assembled at the company's facility. The Locally assembly of the car has further helped the BMW to price the vehicle quite competitive.
The Mini Cooper Countryman diesel will derive its power from a 1.6-litre diesel engine, and produces the maximum power output of 112bhp and 270Nm of torque. Mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, the power will be transferred to the front wheels. The vehicles it will compete against in India are the upcoming Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class Diesel. FYI, B-class Sport Tourer is already on sale in India, however in petrol, the diesel version is likely to hit the Indian shores within this year only.
BMW is also planning to launch the 1-Series in India by September 2013, which will be the company's most affordable vehicle.