BMW Mini to be launched in India by 2008 at an estimated price of Rs 20 lakh.

BMW India plans to launch the BMW Mini in 2009. Reports say that BMW India has completed market analyses for the launch and handed over the results to its German headquarters. The company has said that the BMW Mini is not just a car, but a brand altogether and so a feasibility study is a must.

Most likely to carry a price tag of Rs 20 lakh, the BMW Mini would be a result of the investments BMW has made at its Chennai plant. BMW has pumped in $750,000, and plant capacity has been increased from 1700 units to 3000 units per year.

To add to its brand visibility, BMW also plans to open smaller showrooms in Tier-2 cities like Jodhpur, Surat and Coimbatore. BMW already has nine showrooms in India and will set up three more, in 2008, in Kochi, Ahmadabad and Kolkata.

BMW has sold a record 350,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2008. BMW reported overall sales of 351,787 units, an increase of 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

In the overseas markets, the BMW Mini, in 200 8, moved a total of 26,963 cars, an increase of 24.4 percent over the previous year.

India contributed the most in these numbers, by posting a jump of 800 per cent to 862 cars. Overall sales in March 2008 alone climbed by 8.2 percent on the year to 153,184 vehicles, BMW has said.