Locally Produced BMW 1-Series to Hit India in Late 2013
At the launch of the BMW 6-Series 640d Gran Coupe, BMW India revealed that it will be bringing in the BMW 1-Series hatchback to India in late 2013. Now the 1-Series is BMW’s smallest and least expensive car and will quite possibly be perfect for the Indian market. And wait, it gets better; Philipp Von Sahr, President, BMW India stated at the 6-Series launch that the 1-Series and 7-Series to hit India will be locally produced making them considerably cheaper due to the import and excise duty benefits.
The latest generation of the 1-Series has been on sale in the international market since September, 2011 and has been doing quite well in terms of sales. BMW India hopes to garner the same kind of record for the 1-Series in India and at the same time launch a direct competitor to the Mercedes Benz A-Class hatchback. We expect the car to be manufactured at BMW’s Chennai plant and priced somewhere in the range of below Rs. 20 lakh.
Taking a look at the engine specs of the 1-Series we get 3 options to choose from; a 1.6-litre petrol, 2.0-litre diesel and a heavy duty 3.0-litre petrol engine. The 3.0-litre petrol engine is of course out of the question for India markets but the 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre engines are viable options. Chances are BMW India will use the 2.0-litre petrol or diesel that also powers their BMW X1. Much depends on the engine specs and pricing, but if locally produced and with the right price and engine size, the 1-Series could help BMW India sales in a big way.