BMW said it will introduce the newest model of its sedan ‘5 Series’ in India this year to bring in volumes and thwart increasing competition from rivals, Mercedes and Audi. With easily availability of low cost car loans, this car is expected to get a good response.
Markus Schram, BMW global director (marketing and planning) said, “The refreshed 5 Series will be launched globally later this month and we intend to launch it in India within 2010. The price is yet to be decided for the India market”.
He said though the 5 Series will primarily rival Mercedes’ E Class, BMW intends to establish a new style in the luxury car market with this series here.
But Schram, did not comment on versions of this series, but maintained ‘our portfolio will be strong’.
In 2009, BMW beat Mercedes as the numero uno luxury car manufacturer in the Indian market having sales of 3,619 units as compared to 3,247 units of the competitor.
Declaring the company’s yearly results, BMW AG chairman Norbert Reithofer said, “We plan to grow our sales again in China, Brazil and India in the current year.”
The company reported net profit of 210 million euro (about Rs 1,315 crore) in 2009 as compared to 330 million euro (about 2,067 crore) previous year, down 36.4% due to effective tax rate.
BMW’s total revenue decreased by 4.7% to 50,681 million euro in 2009 from 53,197 million euro last year.
Its total worldwide sales in 2009 were 1,286,310 units (BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce) as compared to 1,435,876 units in 2008, fall of 10.4%.