BMW India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of German auto major BMW, on Thursday said it is looking at tying-up with an India-based bank to provide financing facilities for its products to boost vehicle sales.
The company's finance arm, BMW Financial Services, is in talks with a bank in India, to provide car loan facilities to its customers.
"We are on the verge of signing a final agreement with an Indian bank to provide car loan facilities and BMW would be the first luxury car manufacturer in India to give retail loan facilities," BMW management board member Michael Ganal told reporters in Singapore.
He said the company anticipates an almost four-fold increase in its vehicle sales in India to 1,000 units this year compared to just 257 in 2006.
"The company, through the bank tie-up, is looking at providing a 100 per cent loan on its brands. In addition, through BMW Financial Services, the company would also provide a similar loan facility for its dealers," BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl said.
BMW Group's total vehicle sales in 2006, grew by 3.5 per cent at 13,73,970 units. The company said it would stick to its goal of selling 1,50,000 cars in Asia by next year, after sales in the continent grew 13.8 per cent in 2006 to 1,26,949 units.
The Munich-based company would start assembling cars in India late next month and expects to produce 1,000 vehicles in the plant's first year of operation.
BMW's Chennai plant, which is the company's fifth factory in Asia will make 3 and 5 series BMWs exclusively for the Indian market. The facility would be formally inaugurated on March 29.
"We are looking at manufacturing around 1,000 vehicles in the Chennai facility this year. The plant has a capacity to roll-out 1,700 units of 3 and 5 series annually," Ganal said.
The company said sales of BMW brand cars in Asia rose 15.5 per cent in 2006 to 109,848 units from the previous year.
BMW sold 16,959 units of Mini in Asia last calendar year, up 3.7 per cent year on year, while its luxury Rolls-Royce Phantoms sold 142 times -- 40 more than its sales in 2005.
Sales of BMW motorbikes were almost unchanged at 3,620. Japan, which is the biggest market for BMW in Asia recorded a 5.6 per cent rise to 62,068 units, while China was the fastest growing market for BMW in 2006 at 44,700 units, up 35 per cent over 2005.
