The world reputed German car maker of luxury segment, BMW is setting its foot towards a more growth in the pre-owned car sales. It estimates to attain a growth of 30% in India through new dealerships for its BMW Premium Selection. Starting this April, the company wants to install its brand image thereby attaining this 30% growth, said its President for India. In 2009 BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in the country’s luxury car segment by selling 3619 units against the latter’s 3247 units.
The target for this year is 4000 and the first dealership for Premium Selection will be launched in Chennai and the next will be in Gurgaon in Q3 of 2010. He further added that without anytime scale there will be increased dealerships for this pre-owned car business in India and there will be a new coloring for this venture. But the cars under this category should have been of post-2006 production. The engineers and technicians of BMW will certify the bona-fide of the cars so that the new buyers will get a sort of warranty.
In all these three years, BMW has sold out 8000 units in India and the current focus is on the new ownership through this old car deal. This means that the segment which cannot afford Rs20 lakhs will also have an access to luxury. Moreover, the time limit for a luxury car usage from 5-6 years shall also be reduced to 3-4 years, he said. This new venture will bring in new wisdom and new horizon among the customers over BMW, he remarked. The Premium Selection business is already in practice in Europe, Russia and the US. To enhance the business, BMW has started its finance wing, BMW Financial Services to come into effect in June-July 2010.
Once the clearance is received from the RBI there will be full throttle in this section. This will be headquartered in Gurgaon and take care of the entire insurance and finance solution for the buyers. The company’s investment in this Financial Services will be USD 50 million for a period of two years. This service will be available for other cars too and will have a separate identity from the European Bank.