Betting big on Indian ma­rkets, BMW India, a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW Group will be launching its new BMW X1 models and new BMW 5 series by the end of December 2010, a top official said. The new BMW X1 was launched at the end of 2009 in Europe and the new BMW 5 series will be la­unched at the end of March for the world market.

“We will launch the new BMW X1 models in petrol and diesel and petrol version for the Indian market by the end of December 2010,” Pe­ter Kronschnabl, BMW Ind­ia president said on the sidelines of the BMW group annual accounts press conference on Wednesday. The se­dan which will be ma­nu­factured at BMW India’s Ch­ennai plant will carry a price tag of Rs 25 lakh, he added. The same European 2 litre diesel engine model carries a starting price of €29,500 while petrol version is priced around €28,000.

Kronschnabl said he was targeting to sell over 500 units of BMW X1 mod­e­ls in India. The new models will have 10 per cent localisation to maintain internatio­nal quality and performance.

The company, which has till date invested Rs 110 cro­re in India, will also manufacture the BMW 5 series at its plant in Chennai. “These will be the best in class in its segment,” he said.

The company said it will also make fresh investment to the tune of €50 million to set up its new BMW Pre­mium Selection, a used car bu­siness and set up BMW Financial Services this year. “Initially, we will set up two state of the art dealerships exclusively for BMW used car business at Chennai and Gurgaon,” he said. The plan is to cover all major cities phase wise, he added.

Kronschnabl said globally the used car business was as good as selling new cars. “There is a huge potential for the luxury second hand car market in India,” he added. However, the company will buy only three-four year old luxury cars to sell them in the second hand market. The company since its launch in India three years ago has sold over 8,000 units and expects 30 per ce­nt of its total sales to come from used car business.

“This will help clients who would like to buy new brands,” Kronschnabl said, adding he was targeting customers with a disposable income of Rs 20 lakh.

The firm was also targeting to increase production of vehicles by 30 per cent by the end of 2010. At present it manufactures 3,000 units at its Chennai plant employing 160 permanent workers in one shift. The number of workers at the plant will also be raised by 30 per cent, he said but there will be no second shift planned yet.

He said the firm was alr­eady sourcing compone­nts from India for its global motorcycle manufacturing uni­ts. “We have begun sampling test for casting and forging components from India for our global car plants, but it will take time to give booking orders to a couple of ve