BMW Motorrad has sold nearly 150 motorcycles since the company officially started operations in India in April this year. And it's the adventure bikes from BMW which seem to be attracting a lot of attention. According to sources in BMW Motorrad dealerships, the BMW R 1200 GS and its top-spec BMW R 1200 GS Adventure make up nearly 60 per cent of those sales. The R 1200 GS and the top-spec GS Adventure are available in three trims each, starting at Rs. 15.90 lakh (ex-showroom) for the standard R 1200 GS. Prices for the R 1200 GSA begin at Rs. 17.50 lakh (ex-showroom), going up to Rs. 21.40 lakh (ex-showroom) for the GSA Pro variant.
There is a lot of interest in the BMW S 1000 RR as well
BMW's superbike, S 1000 RR has also generated considerable interest in India, mainly from current litre-class sportbike owners. Sources say current owners of bikes like the Honda CBR 1000R Fireblade are now looking at upgrading to the top-spec BMW sportbike, and many superbike owners have already placed bookings for the S 1000 RR. BMW Motorrad offers its complete line-up of motorcycle models in India, across five segments - Sports, Touring, Roadster, Heritage and Adventure. Currently, all BMW bikes are brought in as completely built units (CBUs) from Berlin, Germany.
The smallest bike from the BMW Motorrad stable, the "made in India" BMW G 310 R, will now be launched sometime in 2018, with BMW Motorrad focussing on setting up a dealership and service network in India. BMW Motorrad has already established dealerships in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. A fifth dealership will be inaugurated in Delhi in September. BMW Motorrad is looking to establish dealerships in all major cities across India over the next 10-12 months.
The BMW G 310 R is manufactured in India by TVS Motors at its production facility in Hosur. It's the first motorcycle below 650 cc in the BMW Motorrad line-up, and under the partnership with TVS, the Indian two-wheeler manufacturer will share technology for the bike with BMW Motorrad. TVS is already working on launching its own version of the same motorcycle, to be called the TVS Apache RR 310S.
So far, there is no word on the expected pricing for the BMW G 310 R, but even though it's a single-cylinder roadster, the G 310 R will be positioned as a premium motorcycle, so expect 'premium' pricing as well. We expect the G 310 R will be priced in the range of between Rs. 2.5 - 2.75 lakh, but BMW Motorrad may just spring a surprise and price it very competitively once the bike is launched. The BMW G 310 R will compete against the likes of the KTM 390 Duke and Kawasaki Z250 in India.
