Reference Auto

BMW is going the Mercedes way with a litany of rollouts to stay ahead in the luxury segment race and this time it launched its ‘Nano of the luxury category’, the X1 SUV, carrying a price tag of Rs 23 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) only. The car is expected to be rolled out around December 20.

The X1 will come in two variants – a basic two-wheel drive car christened Corporate Edition and another two-wheel drive called Highline.

The X1 Corporate Edition will have 1.8 litre petrol engine and 2 litre diesel engine which can produce a maximum bhp of 176. Both the cars are slated to have automatic and manual transmission options.

Coming with a six-speed automatic, this 2.0-litre diesel motor is likely to offer a smooth drive just like the recently-launched 320d.

The Corporate Edition will have 16-inch wheels as compared to the Highline, which will come with 17-inch wheels and an optional 18-inch one will be offered as an accessory.

So far as the exterior goes, the X1 will have halogens in the base version (Corporate) and xenons with corona rings for the Highline.

Talking of the interiors, the Corporate Edition has a single-CD player and faux leather. The Highline will come with six-disc changer with aux-in and USB ports as well as leather seats. It will also have a four-inch screen and i-Drive with Bluetooth. A conventional sunroof will also be offered with the Highline.

Space in the interiors of the BMW X1 is good but when compared to SUVs such as the Toyota Fortuner, the price tag of which is near the X1 bracket, it seems a tad inadequate.

BMW will assemble the X1 at the company’s Chennai facility after importing it to India in the CKD or completely-knocked-down form. Later, the company plans to manufacture the car in India.

In the US, the BMW X1 has surpassed company expectations. Ever since its introduction last August, the X1 logged a sales of 36,000 cars in the US, and for many of these customers, BMW was not an option.

BMW is planning to shore up investment in India to Rs 180 crore by 2012. The company, which began its India operations in 2007 from its Chennai plant, has been betting big on India, pumping in Rs 110 crore till now. On Tuesday, BMW rolled out the 10,000th car from its Chennai facility, which currently has a capacity to produce 5,400 cars annually.

“Surging demand for luxury cars has forced us to relook at our strategy on new launches and we hope to roll out a combination of locally assembled and imported cars and SUVs within two years,” said Andreas Schaaf, president of BMW India.

BMW has found many takers with booking figures for the X1 in Delhi standing at a whopping 200 already. But BMW fans will have to wait for five months and shell out an initial Rs 3 lakh to get their dream car.

BMW has taken on big players like Toyota and Nissan head on and the German car maker feels that the X1 is its trump card, with the help of which it could rev up sales substantially. Initial sales trends indicate that the X1 could help BMW pip Mercedes-Benz and take it to the top of the pecking order in India’s luxury car market.