To cope with the increasing global demand, BMW is expanding MINI production operations beyond Europe by launching a local production line in India. To begin business later this year, MINI India plant will make selected models for the Indian market.
The first model to go into production at the BMW plant in Chennai (formerly Madras) is the Countryman in two guises; MINI Cooper D Countryman and the MINI One Countryman. BMW makes sure that the Indian MINIs are built to the same standards applied to all production of BMW Group models.
India has become one of the most important markets for the entire BMW Group in recent years. At the start of 2012, MINI opened its first five showrooms for cars from the British brand in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, making India the 100th market in the global MINI sales network. A total of 302 cars were sold here in between March and December 2012.
What makes this more important to BMW is that India has one of the most vibrant small-car segments in the global market, which makes perfect for MINI products. They are going to be pricier than the average small car in India, but the economy is on a constant growth over there. So it’s a healthy investment.
