BMW plans to expand MINI portfolio in India

NEW DELHI: German luxury carmaker BMW is looking to expand the MINI portfolio in India next year in order to cater to rising demand for the range beyond metro cities, according to the company’s president and CEO, Hardeep Singh Brar.

The company, which now has MINI Cooper, MINI Countryman JCW and MINI Convertible in its portfolio, is looking to expand its sales network in smaller cities and towns as the brand gains acceptance beyond major cities.

“We are looking at a couple of more products under the MINI portfolio next year,” Brar said.

The luxury carmaker will be expanding its sales network further next year, adding locations like Jaipur, Lucknow and Ranchi, and all these small towns where the company has no presence currently.

“We are present in about nine cities (for MINI). We want to double the number of cities next year, so that it has a presence beyond the metro cities. We are now slowly and gradually getting a lot of demand from the smaller markets as well,” Brar said.

Being present in the local market also gives a lot of confidence in terms of after sales, etc, he noted. “So we want to enhance the product portfolio, sales network. Besides, we are looking to build the MINI community, and want to do a lot of events for them next year,” Brar said.

Brar said that 40 per cent of the MINI customers in India are actually BMW owners who already own a BMW car.

The automaker imports the MINI range as a completely builtup unit (CBU). Since 2012, the company has sold around 7,500 MINI units in the country.

The latest of the lot, the allnew MINI Convertible, is tagged at Rs 58.5 lakh (ex-showroom).