BMW furthers localisation by sourcing parts from local manufacturers
In a bid to bring overall prices down, BMW India has started on a localisation spree so as to reach 50 per cent parts localisation. The German manufacturer has tied up with quite a few Indian auto component suppliers, including Force Motors, ZF Hero Chassis, Draexlmaier India, Tenneco Automotive India, Valeo India, Mahle Behr and Lear India, to source parts from. The auto parts suppliers will deliver the components to BMW’s Chennai manufacturing facility.
A list of parts and components that BMW will source from the above suppliers includes: engine and gearbox from Force Motors; axles from ZF Hero chassis; door panels and wiring harness from Draexlmaier India; exhaust systems from Tenneco Automotive India; heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and cooling modules from Valeo India and Mahle Behr; and seats from Lear India.
The cars in BMW’s India line-up that will benefit from localisation of parts are the BMW 1 Series, the BMW 3 Series, the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, the BMW 5 Series, the BMW 7 Series, the BMW X1, the BMW X3 and the BMW X5.
The Chennai plant has been operational since 2007, is claimed to meet the same international standards as any of the 30 BMW Group production and assembly facilities worldwide, and Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India has stated that this is more proof of BMW’s commitment to the Indian market. Based on his comments, we can infer that the due to the reduced costs of making one of BMW’s premium cars, the BMW plant in Chennai may also be used to produce exports.
While we may not see a significant reduction in the ex-showroom price of any of the above mentioned models, the cost of spares will reduce and the availability of said spare parts should increase considerably.
