BMW unveils new 3 Series

Gurugram: German luxury carmaker BMW on Wednesday launched the new version of its 3 Series sedan priced between Rs 41.4 lakh and Rs 47.9 lakh (ex-showroom). The new offering is longer and wider than the previous versions but weighs 55 kgs lighter.

BMW Group India President and CEO Rudratej Singh said the 3 series has been the "heart and soul of BMW" and for over four decades it has been the flag bearer of "sheer driving pleasure".

In its new avatar, the 3 series has been built to create "impeccable harmony between the driver, the machine and the road", he added. "It has a very strategic role in our global markets and in India too as every third car we sell in India is a 3 Series," Singh said.

The new 3 series will be available in two diesel variants powered by a two-litre engine and one petrol variant, also with a two-litre engine, along with eight speed automatic transmission. While the two diesel options are available at Rs 41.4 lakh and Rs 46.9 lakh, the petrol version is tagged at Rs 47.9 lakh.

It has features like wireless mobile charging, Apple CarPlay infotainment with 12.3 inch touch screen. Besides safety features such as six airbags, the 7th generation 3 series is locally manufactured at the company's Chennai plant. Singh said the new 3 series will help in bringing new customers who have not bought BMW before, while also encouraging existing customers to upgrade.

Meanwhile, the German luxury automaker said it is still evaluating if it should launch an electric car in India as the ecosystem for launching such vehicles remains "ambiguous and uncertain" in the country right now. The company said it has the required technology and products and is watching the space carefully for entering electric mobility space in India.

"Specifically in India, there is a lot of ambiguity on how this transition (towards EVs) is going to take place. There are lot of grey areas right now," said Rudratej Singh. The infrastructure build-up for the ecosystem that is essential for EVs or any new technology is ambiguous and uncertain, he added. "We will watch that space very carefully," Singh said. He said BMW is already doing some pilots in the country with i3 electric cars in various metro cities.