BMW India launches new X6, its fifth of 15 offerings for 2015

BMW India today launched the new X6 SUV at an ex-showroom price of Rs 1.15 crore. This makes the model its fifth of the planned 15 new offerings, including variants of existing models, for the India market this year.

The company claims the X6 is the only Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) in the world.  The car will be available at all 39 BMW dealerships across India as a CBU (Completely Built-Up) unit from today.

Launching the X6 today at the company’s Bangalore dealership Navnit Motors, Philipp von Sahr, president, BMW Group India, was optimistic about the Indian economy. “Although it is not sensational, the Indian economy is looking stable for the longer term and will help the sales of luxury cars including BMW in the country,” he said.

Talking to Autocar Professional, Sahr said the company has been looking to expand its dealership network across the country to cater to its growing customer base. While there is no region-specific expansion plan, the total dealership count will be expanded to 50 by next year.

Sahr revealed that company has 31 suppliers in India to supply components to its global operations including to its manufacturing facility in Chennai. This year, BMW India has added eight suppliers after it increasing local content to up to 5o percent in the cars manufactured at its Chennai facility.

When asked about the extent of localisation possible in BMW cars, he said the company is currently manufacturing eight models in India and has doubled localisation levels to 50 percent now. “We cannot predict the future level of localisation. But I can say it is a continuous process,” he said.

He added that around 95 percent of the BMW cars running on Indian roads today are locally manufactured models. He, however, declined to provide details about the sales target set for 2015.

Speaking about the X6, Sahr said, “BMW established the Sports Activity Coupe segment with the introduction of the X6. The X6 with the M Sport package sees BMW once again setting the benchmark for extravagant, emotive design, luxurious interiors and extensive customisation options. The sporty exterior of a coupe and equally impressive dynamism and agility make the all-new X6 the most attractive and distinctive car both on the road and off the beaten track.”

In terms of styling, on the outside, there's a new, heavily sculpted front bumper with high-set fog lamps, a faux skid plate and prominent air-vents with chrome garnish. The headlamps are all-new units and merge neatly with the new, more prominent grille. The new X6 M Sport rides on 19-inch alloy wheels. At the rear, the tail-lamps have been revised and the rear bumper is now more sculpted and gets black cladding with twin rectangular exhausts incorporated.

Inside, the new BMW SUV gets a leather-wrapped M steering wheel, individual headliner, M-badged door sills, paddle shifters, a Harman Kardon sound system, heads-up display and a choice of four interior trims.

On the safety front, the new X6 is equipped with six airbags, stability control, traction control and hill descent control.

The new X6 is powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine developing 308.7bhp and 64.24kgm of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. BMW claims that the X6 can do a 0-100kph sprint in 5.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 240kph.

Although the outgoing X6 had no direct rival in the Indian market, this second-generation X6 will lock horns with the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé, expected to drive into the Indian market soon.