BMW to produce small SUV 'Mini Countryman' at Chennai - Business Standard

Luxury car maker BMW is planning to produce its mini SUV product MINI Countryman, under the marquee MINI, at its Chennai facility. This would be the first plant outside Europe to manufacture the product. The company plans to start production next month and to commercialise the products by end of the year, said Robert Frittrang, managing director, BMW India. The expansion of the international production network is in response to the growing demand for premium MINI cars, according to a company statement. With the production of MINI Countryman at the BMW Plant Chennai, MINI is the first premium small car to be locally manufactured in India and expects significant growth over the medium and long term. The MINI Countryman vehicles manufactured at BMW Plant Chennai will fulfill the same quality standards that apply to production of BMW Group models worldwide. The new MINI local production facility has been brought on stream just a year after the start of MINI sales in India and will help to meet the steadily increasing demand, said the company. "It is a very good product for Indian road condition, with high ground clearance. It is also a car in which five persons can travel comfortably," said Frittrang to reporters in the sidelines of the convocation ceremony of Indo-German Training Centre, Chennai. The locally produced vehicles will be introduced in two diesel variants for the first time in India - MINI Cooper D Countryman and MINI Cooper D Countryman High. A new petrol variant of MINI One Countryman will also be produced at BMW Plant Chennai in Southern India. It may be noted the company so far invested around Euro 60 million in India since 2007. The other petrol variants of the MINI Countryman - MINI Cooper S Countryman and MINI Cooper S Countryman High – will be imported in India as Completely Built-up Units (CBU). The MINI (MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S) and MINI Convertible (MINI Cooper Convertible) will be imported in India as CBUs in petrol variants. The price of the vehicles range from Rs 26.60 lakh to Rs 37.50 lakh. At present, it is manufactured in Oxford, Great Briton and Austria. India is the 100th market in the global MINI sales network and has become increasingly significant for the BMW Group since establishing its presence in India from 2007. From January 2012, MINI has continued to grow its presence in India and has established five exclusive outlets across Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.   The company's decision to carry out local production of the MINI Countryman is in connection with the increasing interest for innovative and high-quality vehicle concepts in the Indian market. In March 2007, BMW India officially opened its production plant in Chennai in the Tamil Nadu region of India. The existing facility in a 40 acre land in Mahindra World City, almost 50 kilometers away from Chennai city, has a capacity to manufacture 11,000 units a year, in two shifts, said Frittrang. The BMW Plant Chennai produces the BMW 3 Series, the BMW 5 Series, the BMW X1 and the BMW X3. In 2013, the BMW Plant Chennai will also produce the BMW 7 Series and the BMW 1 Series. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF2l8wcq8vQqvTv9_Zddivoxo9fHw&url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/bmw-to-produce-small-suv-mini-countryman-at-chennai-113041700222_1.html

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