BMW bets on India with latest 3 Series sedan, prices start at Rs 41.5 lakh

The automobile manufacturer is also looking to expand distribution by opening three new dealerships in the coming months.

Business Standard : Just three weeks after taking over, BMW Group India’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Rudratej Singh launched the seventh generation model of the company’s latest 3 Series sedan.

The car generates around a third of its annual sales and is the company’s flagship product. Available in three variants across diesel and petrol engines, the ex-showroom prices of the sedan start at Rs 41,50,000 and go up to Rs 48,00,000. In 2009, the 3 Series range was launched at an ex-show room price of Rs 24,00,000 to Rs 25,00,000. Singh says he doesn’t expect duties to come down anytime soon. Also, BMW does not see the current downturn in the auto segment impacting its plans in any way.

So, is this the best time to launch an expensive car? Singh thinks it is, because new cars like the 3 Series will be even costlier in March 2020 when BSVI norms kick in. “We are committed to this market for the long term, and understand that for growth in India, there will be short-term hiccups,” he said.

The automobile manufacturer is also looking to expand distribution by opening three new dealerships in the coming months.

According to analysts, the steep jump in prices have been a result of high customs duty, excise, goods and services tax (GST), as well as price increases by manufacturers on the back of input costs of steel and rubber, among others.

According to recent reports, luxury or premium car sales for European manufacturers have actually slowed down over the years with the entire segment not growing beyond 40,000 units for car makers that include Jaguar-Land Rover, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Even with cars being assembled in local plants as is the case with BMW and others, prices have been far higher than in other markets. This is because key components such as the drive-train and engine are still imported. Also, it is because of the inability of car makers to lower costs unless they strike an optimum manufacturing and cost efficiency balance.

Analysts say that for efficiencies of scale to kick in, volumes ought to be at least at 100,000 units a year per manufacturer. Singh declined to comment on the rationale but said BMW won’t get into commoditising premium.

Alibaba's smart speaker to feature in Audi, Renault, Honda cars in China

The Tmall Genie Auto smart speaker will allow drivers to use voice commands to, for instance, place orders on Alibaba's online retail platform and buy movie tickets.

China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Tuesday said its voice-controlled assistant will feature in local vehicles from Audi AG, Renault SA and Honda Motor Co Ltd, as the tech giant expands in artificial intelligence.

The Tmall Genie Auto smart speaker will allow drivers to use voice commands to, for instance, place orders on Alibaba's online retail platform and buy movie tickets, Alibaba said at the CES Asia 2019 technology trade show in Shanghai.

In the near future, the speaker will also allow drivers to monitor and control smart devices at houses equipped with a Tmall Genie-compatible device, Alibaba said in a joint statement with the three automakers, without specifying vehicle models.

"We are thrilled to partner with global, distinguished auto brands such as Audi, Renault and Honda," said Miffy Chen, general manager at Alibaba AI Labs.

"Together, we can greatly enhance our in-car services and make driving experiences more intelligent and interconnected."

The Tmall Genie is akin to Amazon.com Inc's Echo.

Alibaba launched the device in 2017 and released an auto version in April last year. Other automakers that have said they will install the device in their vehicles include BMW and Volvo Cars.

Amazon also has a vehicle version of its Echo, dubbed the Echo Auto, which it announced in September.

Business Standard

Audi India set to launch luxury electric car with superior mileage in 2020

Company plans to offer cars that can do 400 km on a single charge, as opposed to existing EVs that can run 150 km at most.

German luxury car maker  Audi  is getting ready to launch a luxury electric vehicle (EV) in the country in 2020. It is working on training of employees and dealers. The company said dealerships will need to have a charging station as well. It plans to sell EVs at select dealerships in few cities depending on the progress in charging infrastructure to begin with.

“The government has clearly sent a message that EV is the future and not hybrids while introducing the GST last year. For the past nine months, we have been working heavily on the infrastructure. We have set up a task force called Electrified India within the company to work on the EV launch in India,” Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India told Business Standard.

Ansari said EV is the future for Audi globally. “Globally, we are launching four EVs by 2020. By 2025, a lot more models will be added. Our expectation is that Audi will sell 800,000 EVs globally a year in 2025, which should then be roughly one-third of global volume. We are in a position to launch an EV in 2020 latest here in India but we will do so once the infrastructure is in place and there is clarity on all fronts. Launching is the easiest part,” he added.

Audi is working on training its employees and dealerships on electric vehicles. Dealerships need wiring, charging stations. “We have been training people at Audi India. We will work on these over next one and half year. We will not sell it everywhere in the country and not at all the dealerships,” he said. Many others mass and luxury players are expected to launch EVs in India in 2020. Country’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki is working with Japanese peer Toyota to launch an electric vehicle in India in 2020. Homegrown auto majors Tata Motors and M&M are the only companies that are producing electric cars in India at this point.

The government said in February it will not bring a dedicated electric vehicle policy but it is working on a new auto policy that will also set an agenda for environment friendly vehicles. Ansari said a central policy would have been ideal though the government has decided not to have one. “The industry could have worked according to framework. Suppose we launch an EV in 2020 and in 2021 a policy opposes the product. We always run that risk so it always helps to have a policy”.

Ansari said that Audi EVs will not be similar to the ones that are being sold in the country at this point. “The locally developed ones have a reach of 90-120 km after one charge and may go up to 150km. At Audi, we are talking about 400 km-plus distance with one charge. If you drive smoothly you might be able to do a round trip between Mumbai and Pune on one charge”, he said.