Summary
Founded in 1916, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG or BMW is a world-renowned luxury car maker. Apart from luxury cars, company also holds a strong reputation for motorbikes that are traded in market under the brandname of ‘BMW Motorrad. The firm is also developing a new engine lineup that will empower BMW bikes and cars with more energy and efficiency. Along with these, the company also owns 2 most premium global brands - MINI and Rolls Royce. BMW has been a regular participant in major motorsport activities since the debut of its first motorcycle in year 1923. The brand also commands a successful history in Formula One race.
Meanwhile in India, the company runs its operations as BMW India Pvt Ltd. It forayed the markets in 2006 and headquartered itself in Gurgaon, Haryana while its manufacturing unit is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. BMW cars in India are admired for their superior designing, decent performance, and superior comfort. Its present range of cars includes hatchbacks, SUVs, sedans, supercars, hybrid vehicles, etc. Its subsidiary brands MINI and Rolls Royce are also present here with their own set of trims.
Indian Operations And Executive Managements
The Bavaria based car maker appointed Philipp Von Shar as the President of BMW Group India in year 2012. Since then, the man has been responsible for all operations and key activities of the company in India. He took the reign of BMW India group after Andreas Schaaf left the post in October2012. Another important worth mentioning important person in BMW management is Sharang Rathore, Corporate, Diplomatic and Direct Sales Head, and GM of the company.
The German car maker invested a hefty amount of 1.8 billion Indian Rupees for setting up its operations and production facility in Chennai. It was inaugurated by its Chairman Nobert Reithofer on March 27, 2008. The plant is known for assembling a number of BMW car models in India such as 1 Series, 3 Series Gran Turismo, 3 Series, 5 Series, MINI, 7 Series, X1, X5, and X3. The plant bears a capacity to produce around 11, 000 units annually on a double shift.
The company also owns a warehouse in Mumbai Maharashtra along with an extended network of 40 dealerships across the nation. In October 2014, BMW achieved a record of locally manufacturing 40, 000 units of cars in Chennai. The 40, 000th car was a 5 Series that was rolled out in presence of Rober Frittrang (Managing Director, BMW Plant Chennai) and Philipp von Shar.
BMW Financial Services India is a completely owned subsidiary of the Bavarian car maker while its headquarters are located in Gurgaon. After considering the rising competition, in 2012, the company raised its investment amount from 2.3 billion to 2.3 billion. BMW primarily executes its operations with three business lines - Retail Finance, Insurance Solutions, and Commercial Finance. It also offers retail automobile financing solutions for its multi-make and personal customers. In addition to that there is a complete range of insurance solutions offered to all customers via its cooperation partner in our country.
Products And Services
BMW is known to have one of the largest dealership networks in the Indian luxury car market. Currently, the German car maker owns 40 dealerships that are spread across all 1-tier towns of the nation. Its marketing team is aggressively working upon extending this network to selling points. The company plans to overcome its biggest rival Mercedes-Benz that currently owns 80 dealerships across the nation.
Environmental Initiatives
Keeping in view the changing dynamics of market and increasing inclination towards environment friendly vehicles, BMW is slowly updating its hybrid vehicles profile. The maker showcased 7 Series ActiveHybrid at the Delhi Motor Show in July last year. Along with, the 2014 Delhi Motor Show also witnessed the debut of its i-brand with release of its flagship model i8 plug-in hybrid. The i8 plug-in hybrid sportscar is already on floors and will be soon joined by i3 - a hundred per cent electric car.
Founder And First Car
BMW was first established as a business unit but was later reorganized as Rapp Motorenweke aircraft manufacturing entity in 1917. When the First World War concluded in 1918, the Bavarian car maker was compelled to stop its production of aircraft motors under the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company later moved to motorbikes production in 1923 and to larger automobiles in 1928-29. The first BMW car, Dixi, was released after that. The design and styling of this vehicle was inspired from Austin 7 and was licensed under the Austin Motor Company located in Birmingham, England.
The BMW IIIa in-line six liquid-cooled engine was its first aircraft engine that was released in 1918. The engine garnered appraises for its high-altitude performance. When treaty restriction lifted, the company re-started its aircraft engine productions for German air force - the Luftwaffe. The most successful BMW designs that were used throughout the Second World War were BMW 132 and BMW 801.
USP
BMW cars in India are reckoned for their aggressive styling and high-end performance. Moreover, these cars are also loved for their exclusive driving experience. The German car maker has spent loads of money over its R&D team that is dedicated to development of high performance fuel efficient engine. The fuel efficient BMW cars are exclusively in demand among young motor enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.
Resale Value
BMW basically assembles its cars at its manufacturing facility located in Chennai. The local assembling helps keeping costs under control. With the evolution of its machinery, BMW cars’ fuel efficiency has also become a prime reason for their popularity.
Competition
BMW presently stands at third position in terms of volume and proceeds in Indian luxury cars market. Audi is right now on top position closely followed by Mercedes-Benz. The company is also locking horns with Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo for market share.
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