There is no denying in the kind of brand value Sachin Tendulkar possesses apart from his prowess on the cricket field. Over the years, the legendary cricketer has been associated with a number of brands by featuring in their advertising campaigns, such as Adidas, Coca Cola, Luminous, Toshiba and Boost. Currently, he is the brand ambassador for the Indian subsidiary of German automobile giant BMW. Now, with the launch of the 1 Series beckoning, the firm has released a television commercial that features Tendulkar driving the upcoming car. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, the advertisement also stars Armaan Ebrahim, the famous FIA GT1 racer.
In this advertisement, both are seen driving the BMW 1 Series at a high speed, which is followed by a few exchange of words before the drive is resumed. Slated to launch for 3rd of September, the BMW 1 series is likely to compete with the likes of Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Audi Q3 S. Reports suggest that two variants of 1 Series are going to be launched in the Indian car market.
According to sources, one version would be powered by a 1.6-litre engine capable of producing around 136 bhp of power along with a peak torque of 220 Nm. On the other hand, the second variant is expected to be fitted with a 2.0-litre powertrain, which is likely to generate around 143 bhp of power and torque of up to 320 Nm. Both of these engines will be mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It is believed that BMW is likely to bring the 1 Series to India as a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) unit. The German car maker has also devised a strong marketing strategy to boost the sales of the 1 Series. Online bookings for the 1 Series have already been commenced and the first 100 customers will be offered a complimentary maintenance package, called the BMW Service Inclusive Plus.
In recent times, the competition between luxury car makers has been stiffening more and more. Owing to the bad condition of the Indian car market, luxury vehicle manufacturers have devised new strategies to make an impact. Firms like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have realised that in order to establish any sort of stronghold, they need to target price sensitive section of buyers in India. Mercedes-Benz, a fierce rival of BMW, has already seen a lot success with the launch of low cost cars like A-Class and the B-Class. The other rival of BMW, Audi, also entered the race by introducing the low-cost variant of the Q3 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), known as the Q3 S. BMW 1 Series, expected to be priced below Rs. 24 lakh, is slated to give the likes of Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Audi Q3 S a run for their money.
Industry experts feel that making Sachin Tendulkar a part of their advertising campaign is smart move by BMW. Tendulkar, apart from his obviously love for cricket, is a big fan of sports cars and owns some premium luxury cars. In the past, Tendulkar was the owner of a Ferrari 360 Modena, which was presented to him by Formula One legend Michael Schumacher on the eve of the British Grand Prix in 2002.
