BMW targets tier-II towns to retain top spot

02 May 2009

BMW India is chalking out robust plans to retain its number one position in the Indian luxury car market. Having snatched the top spot from Mercedes Benz a few months ago, it plans to hang on to it by spreading its dealerships into smaller 'tier-II' cities, planning to double in its dealership network to 24 by the end of the year.
 

The Indian arm of the Munich-based company has indicated that after enhancing its presence in the tier 1 cities, it is now zeroing in on tier II cities like Coimbatore (where it opened a sales and service outlet on Thursday), Jaipur and Lucknow. The company, which currently has 12 dealers in 10 cities, will add 10 more dealers in 10 tier II cities by the end of 2010.

"In the first quarter of the year we have delivered 992 cars, which make us the number one player in the luxury segment. We don't know if we will remain the number one by the end of the year but we are on track to stay there," BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl told reporters at the company's plant in Gurgaon.

He said the company expects each dealer from Tier II cities to contribute about 30-40 cars per year. He added that while the standards of BMW dealerships were the same across cities, those in the smaller cities would have only one or two cars on display. 

Kronschnabl, however, declined to forecast the company's sales target for the year stating a clear picture would emerge only after the second quarter. 

Asked if the global slowdown has in any way made the firm alter its expansions plans in India, he replied in the negative. "Instead, we are going ahead. We are working at the same pace as before despite the slowdown. While we won't expand production capacity as we have enough, our focus is to expand our sales and service network," he said.