Thursday, September 05, 2013
By Kamal Swami
BMW 1 Series sets eye to compete with Mercedes Benz in hatchback segment
With launch of BMW 1 series hatchback in Indian car market with price tag of Rs. 20.9 lakh, the renowned luxurious car marker of Germany BMW is speculating to place tough competition against its strong contender Mercedes Benz in hatchback segment of luxurious cars existing in Indian market. This was indicated by Mr. Philipp von Sahr, President of BMW India, during the launch BMW1 series couple of days back. In words of Mr. Sahr, with spontaneous and high class performance, BMW1 carries all those features which meet the requirements of persons who love to drive passionately and grab attention of everyone wherever they go. According to Mr. Sahr, with all these features and fascinating looks BMW1 will undoubtedly makes it strong presence in hatchback segment of cars.
As it is known that BMW has launched BMW 1 Series in both petrol and diesel variants in Indian car market. The petrol variant is blessed with 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine that churns out the power of 136 bhp, followed by 8 speed automatic transmission, developing the maximum torque of 220 Nm. The worth mentioning feature of petrol variant is that with powerful engine it is able to deliver an average of 16.5 kmpl, it is reported that car attains the speed from 0 to 100 kmph within the span of 8.7 seconds. On the other side the diesel variant is equipped with 2.0 litre 4 cylinder twin power turbocharged engine which develops the maximum power of 143 bhp and torque of 320 Nm. BMW has launched diesel variant of 1 series in three options namely Base, Sport Line and Sport.
It is reported that BMW will be bringing 1 Series in India via Completely Knocked Down path and assemble its parts at its assembling plant located at Chennai. The major features adorned in BMW 1 Series include auto start/stop button followed by iDrive system, electric glass roof and many others.
Industry experts believe that with launch of BMW 1 Series the market of premium hatchback segment will get with tough competition existing between three legends i.e., BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi. Moreover with launch of BMW 1 Series at an affordable price strengthens the belief of experts more strongly. It would be interested to know that both Mercedes Benz and Audi have recently launched B-Class and Q3 S in premium hatchback segment in India.
