BMW to make MINI Countryman in Chennai

Chennai: BMW’s Chennai plant will soon become the first one outside Europe to manufacture the luxury car maker’s compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) the MINI Countryman.

Production of the compact SUV will start next month and it will start hitting the roads by the end of the year, said Robert Frittrang, managing director, BMW India. The move to expand the company’s international production network is in response to the growing demand for premium MINI cars, BMW said in a statement.

When the company starts production, MINI will be India’s first locally-manufactured premium small car. The firm expects significant growth over the medium- and long-term. According to the company, Chennai-manufactured MINI will fulfil the same quality standards that apply to BMW Group models worldwide. BMW also expects local production of MINI could improve its demand in India.

“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,” Frittrang told reporters on the sidelines of the convocation ceremony of Indo-German Training Centre, Chennai.

The locally-produced vehicle will be introduced in two diesel variants - MINI Cooper D Countryman and MINI Cooper D Countryman High. Another petrol variant, MINI One Countryman, will also be produced at Chennai. Since 2007, the company has invested around ^60 million in India.

The other petrol variants - MINI Cooper S Countryman and MINI Cooper S Countryman High – will be imported in India as completely built-up units (CBUs).

The price of the vehicles range from Rs 26.60 lakh to Rs 37.50 lakh.

At present, the compact SUV is manufactured at Oxford in UK and in 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.

In March 2007, BMW India officially opened its production plant in Chennai. The existing facility in a 40-acre land in Mahindra World City, about 50 kms away from Chennai city, has a capacity to manufacture 11,000 units a year, in two shifts, said Frittrang.

At present, BMW’s Chennai plant produces BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW X1, and BMW X3. In 2013, the plant will also produce BMW 7 series and BMW 1 series.

TVS Motor, BMW tie up to tap technology, market access

Chennai: TVS Motor and BMW AG's motorcycle division announced a deal on Monday to jointly develop bikes that would give the Indian automaker access to BMW technology as it looks to stem its falling market share.

The long-awaited deal should help TVS revamp a dated product pipeline at the company, which has struggled to compete with a recent ramp-up in activity from Honda Motor and Yamaha Motor and could also help BMW gain a foothold in the world's second-largest bike market.

TVS Motor and BMW will develop a series of motorcycles for the 250-500 cc segment. This would mark the entry of India’s fourth-largest two-wheeler company into the above-250-cc two-wheeler space.

For the German premium two-wheeler maker, the agreement is part of its global realigning strategy, which includes a foray into the sub-500-cc segment.

The agreement involves both companies offering individual vehicle derivatives, which would be sold through their own distribution channels across the globe, said Venu Srinivasan, TVS Motor chairman and managing director.

As part of the agreement, TVS Motor would invest ^20 million in India, said Srinivasan. Initially, TVS would develop two products in India---one product for TVS and the other for BMW to sell in global markets. The first product is expected to be launched in 2015.

Srinivasan said while BMW brought technology and products to the venture, TVS would leverage its supply chain expertise and its ability to develop small products in bulk.

Yaresh Kothari, research analyst (automobile), Angel Broking, said in the long term, the tie-up would be positive for TVS Motor. About 95 per cent of India’s motorcylce market is accounted for by the 150-cc segment or segments with engine capacities lower than 150 cc. While the margins in the above-150-cc segment are high, volumes are low — in the near term, there would be no impact of the tie-up on TVS Motor’s ranking, Kothari said.

Stephan Schaller, president, BMW Motorrad, said globally, the company was realigning the two-wheeler business. The company planned to enter the sub-500-cc segment and foray into emerging markets with smaller capacity products and core offerings, he said., adding, “This is an important step towards more profitability and sustainability.”

The tie-up comes at a time when TVS has been losing market share to Honda Motor and Yamaha. For 2012-13, TVS reported a fall of six per cent in sales, compared with a four per cent rise recorded by the overall industry. Experts say it would be difficult for TVS to regain the market share lost to Honda. The Chennai-based company’s two-wheeler sales fell from 1,80,274 units in March 2012 to 1,62,507 units in March 2013.

Infosys bags BMW contract for infra management services

Bengaluru: In a deal that will help it gain more share in the European market, Infosys announced that it has won a five-year deal from BMW Group for application basis infrastructure management services.

Infosys will open a new delivery centre in Munich as part of its global service delivery team and cover services, such as maintenance and operations of the web infrastructure, content management, SAP Basis operations, IT for IT (the company's internal IT system) and the business intelligence systems of BMW Group.

The second-largest IT services firm in the country garners around 24% of the revenues from Europe, where it is looking for more growth.

Last September, it acquired Swiss consulting firm, Lodestone, for over $350 million (Rs 1,930 crore). In the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the revenues from Euro went up 16.6% sequentially and 14.4% on constant currency terms. This was a reflection of the business gain through the acquisition.

"Our new delivery centre in Munich will help us achieve this objective for BMW and allow us to expand our local presence in a key growth market," said Ashok Vemuri, global head of manufacturing and engineering services at Infosys,

Overall Europe contributes a little under 30% of the $76 billion in exports that the Indian IT-BPO industry is expected to clock in the year to March 2013, with most of it coming from the UK and Nordic region

BMW raises capacity at Chennai unit

MUNICH: German carmaker BMW has increased capacity at its Chennai manufacturing facility to 10,000 vehicles per annum from 6,000 vehicles as it looks to strengthen its number one position in the luxury car segment, it said on Tuesday.

"If the market continues to grow at the same pace, we could consider looking at a second production facility by 2015," said its board member Ian Robertson . The company, which so far been assembling the 3 series, 5 series, and X1 models in India, is looking at assembling the X3 model in the country by middle of the year.

Concerns over rising oil prices have prompted the company to enhance focus on its electric (i range) and hybrid range of cars for emerging countries such as India, China, and Brazil. From 2013, BMWi will offer highly sustainable electric cars and the i3 will be the first all-electric vehicle for urban centres, Mr Robertson said. "We are continuously looking at new models and cannot rule out launch of the second generation of the BMWi series in emerging markets," he said.