For a company that sold a mere 150 cars in India last year, BMW has hogged a disproportionate share of news columns. Ever since the late nineties, stories have been written in business dailies of BMW's imminent entry into India with its own manufacturing plant, only to be followed by a rash of denials. In between, BMW has been said to have looked at locations as varied as Gurgaon, Kochi and Vizag. Ramesh Divyanathan, BMW's spokesperson in South-East Asia, is a bit amused by the myriad and conflicting reports. "Yes, BMW is interested in India, but there are no plans to open up any facilities in the near future," he says. Ironically, BMW's top brass itself may be responsible for the conflicting reports. Recently, BMW Chairman, Helmut Panke, was reported stating in Singapore that the carmaker was considering manufacturing in India. At the moment, BMW doesn't even have a marketing office, instead choosing to sell the handful of cars through two dealers in North and West India. With India signing a free trade agreement with Thailand last year, there's lesser incentive for BMW to make cars in the country. In Thailand, it has a manufacturing plant that exports to nearby countries. As for the stories, it's safe to say that they'll continue to get written.
Source: BT
Source: BT
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