Will raise Chennai unit output to curtail waiting period: BMW's Pawah

Indian market is probably at its take-off point, says Vikram Pawah

With one-third of its Rs 45-lakh BMW X1 customers between the ages of 21 and 40 years and about 57 per cent migrating from mass-level or low-premium cars to luxury vehicles, BMW India is working to reduce its waiting period. VIKRAM PAWAH, president, BMW Group, in conversation with Sohini Das, outlines his plans for ramping up production at the Chennai plant and launching more electric vehicles in India. Edited excerpts: 

You have a six-month waiting period for your cars. How do you plan to reduce that?

The year 2022 was phenomenal for us, breaking all records. Customer deliveries increased across segments – the BMW, the MINI, and the Motorrad. There is a waiting period on our cars, but not every model has a waiting period of six months. Some have a six-month waiting period, others have a year. We have an order book of 2,500 BMWs, 250 MINIs, and 1,500 Motorrads. We will increase our production at the Chennai plant to match demand. But there are challenges in the semiconductor market and the supply chain.

Given such a scenario, we are not able to cater to the full demand. As we ramp up production, the situation will ease. For instance, when we launched our electric products last year, we could not supply them immediately. Now we are ensuring that customers waiting for our products don’t have to do so for long. Some products are available within a month. For the 7 Series we launched this month, the deliveries will begin in March – so there is a three-month waiting there.

Shed light on how you plan to ramp up capacity.

After 2021, we have ramped up our capacity by 35 per cent. In 2021, we managed 34 per cent. Now, we again intend to boost capacity by a good double digit in 2023.

Any plans to further enhance localisation in the MINI?

Our highest-selling model – the MINI Countryman - is produced locally, with nearly 50 per cent home-grown content. The other MINI models are niche. We will look at localisation, depending on volume potential.

Is India becoming a mature market for luxury cars?

India is still at a nascent stage. In the past three years, however, we have seen signs of faster adoption. Our brand has seen back-to-back 34-35 per cent growth in two years – going beyond the pre-pandemic highs. This instils confidence in us that the market is probably at its take-off point. Nearly 70 per cent of our products this year will be new. We should be able to sustain this momentum. We offer five distinct electric products in India and the demand for them is growing rapidly.

The BMW X1 is a classic example. About 33 per cent of its customer base is very young – between 21 and 40 years of age. About 57 per cent of these customers are migrating to near-premium or mass segments. With the new X1 that we have launched, this will only grow further.

The BMW Motorrad also grew by 40 per cent last year. What is the outlook for the motorcycle segment?

We took over the segment in 2017 and have shown robust growth – from 232 units sold in the first year to 7,282 units sold last year. About 90 per cent of the sales we have in India is all locally produced.

What is the outlook for this year?

We don’t give a prognosis on the numbers. But our growth momentum will continue. We are trying to get more people into the premium segment.

Will you bring more electric models to India?

Worldwide, 25 electric models will be available by the end of 2023. Half of them will be fully electric, the other half plug-in hybrids. Among those, we will evaluate which ones to bring to India. We already have five electric vehicle offerings in India, which is the widest range available already.