Since its entry into the market, German luxury carmaker BMW has been successfully operating in India, building a strong base of loyal customers and reach. The company’s manufacturing facility in Chennai has now completed 11 years. To commemorate the occasion, BMW launched its SKILL NEXT initiative. In this feature, we take stock of the company’s journey in India, a market where it is keen to establish itself as a leader in luxury car space.
BMW Group India recently completed 11 years of its presence in India. It was on March 29, 2007 that the BMW Plant Chennai had started operations. Currently, the Chennai plant operates on a single shift, and has 650 employees, including operators as well as other staff. The plant locally produces nine vehicle models including the 3 Series, 3 Series Gran Turismo, 5 Series, 6 Series Gran Turismo, 7 Series, BMW X1, X3, X5 and the MINI Countryman.
To celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Chennai plant, BMW launched the SKILL NEXT technical skilling initiative. Under this initiative, the company is providing 365 engines and transmissions to leading engineering and technical institutes across all states and union territories in the country. SKILL NEXT is aimed at making a strong contribution to skilling India, and will present an opportunity for engineering and technical students to obtain hands-on training on advanced technologies of BMW engine and transmission.
The engines and transmissions will be provided to engineering colleges, industrial training institutes and polytechnics free of cost, on a first-come-first-serve basis, by 2018-end. The engine that is being provided is the BMW TwinPower Turbo, in-line four-cylinder diesel unit, while the transmission is the company’s eight-speed steptronic automatic unit. BMW noted that the engines and transmission being provided under the SKILL NEXT initiative were part of the stock that was affected by the rain and subsequent floods the city had experienced. These parts could not be used in vehicles as per BMW quality standards, but could be used as a learning source to impart theoretical and practical knowledge to students.
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