BMW to set up IPO in India for ancillaries


Following suit of global auto companies that source components from India, BMW, the German luxury car maker announced on Tuesday that it will open its international purchasing office in India to cater to its worldwide ancillaries requirement.

"We will be setting up an international purchasing office (IPO) which will be headed by an expat to take care of sourcing components for BMW's global operations," said BMW India President Peter Kronschnabl. By August this year, the office would be operational.

In Chennai, BMW already has a purchase unit for its India operations. The new purchasing office would be independent of the India operations. It would directly report to Munich headquarters.

Presently, BMW sources some IT components from India but with the setting up of the new international purchasing office, it is looking to expand the basket of products sourced from India.

BMW India's purchase office and the international purchasing office could work in tandem, Kronschnabl said, adding that the two may individually approach vendors or together depending on products.

Kronschnabl, however, did not comment on the quantum of components that BMW was looking to source from India. The auto major has also revised its sales target for 2007, after the commendable performance by its recently launched '3 Series' sedan.

"Initially, we had planned to sell about 1,000 cars in India in the calendar year, now we have scaled it up to 1,200 units," Kronschnabl said, adding that the company would roll out its '5 Series' models from the Chennai plant by June.

BMW is also expected to launch two SUVs X3 and X5 by late 2007 after completing the homologation process to ensure suitability to Indian driving conditions.

For the month of April, BMW sold 107 units of cars, of which 76 units were '3 Series' and the rest from its imported models such as the '7 Series' and SUVs.

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