Assembly of 2013 BMW 7 Series starts in India
The Indian arm of BMW had launched the 2013 7-Series luxury saloon in the Indian market on April 25 2013, and also announced its local assembly. It was launched for a base price of Rs 92.90 lakhs ex-showroom. At the launch, Philipp von Sahr, president, BMW Group India had said that they will soon commence the local assembly of their premium luxury saloon from the Chennai plant.
Now, the production facility at Chennai has started assembling the 7-Series locally, and the first unit has been rolled out. The locally assembled 7-Series is the entry level diesel 730 Ld variant. This facility also assembles the MINI Countryman. BMW 7-Series is a top-of-the-line luxury car in India and is challenging the likes of the Merc S-Class, Audi A8L and the Jaguar XJ.
Currently, the saloon is available in both petrol and diesel engines. For the 2013 model, changes have been made internally and externally. Power and efficiency have both been tweaked and the car now comes with an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Four variants are offered, i.e. the diesel 730Ld at INR 92.90 lakh and three petrol rigs 740Li at INR 1.12 crore, 750Li at INR 1.29 crore and the 760Li at INR 1.73 crore.
BMW 730Ld is the locally assembled model, while the 740Li, 750Li, and 760Li variants are sold as CBUs (Completely Built Units). The domestic production has helped the car-maker adapt to a price-sensitive Indian market. The 7 Series is BMW's flagship model and one of the most luxurious cars in its class. Luxury car-makers in India are aiming at increasing the number of cars which are being locally produced. This helps them to save on the exorbitant taxes on their products considerably as compared to the cars sold as CBUs.