[TusharK]

BMW has launched a new variant of the 3 Series Gran Limousine called the M Sport Pro Edition. It is based on the 330Li petrol version and is priced at Rs 62.60 lakh (ex-showroom).



The M Sport Pro Edition features a black kidney grille with Adaptive LED headlights on either side and a gloss black rear diffuser. On the interior, the car gets an M headliner in Anthracite upholstery, electrically adjustable Comfort Seats, a panoramic sunroof and ambient lighting.



The M Sport Pro Edition is equipped with a BMW Curved Display featuring a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system that has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. The car also gets a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, and BMW ConnectedDrive features.



The BMW 330Li M Sport Pro Edition is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine that produces 255 BHP @ 5,000 rpm and 400 Nm @ 1,550-4,400 rpm. The engine is mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear axle.

The 330Li comes with three driving modes – Comfort, ECOPRO and Sport. It is equipped with 6 airbags, Attentiveness Assistance, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) including Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and electric parking brake with auto hold; among other safety features.

Link to Team-BHP news

[DeKay]

Chinese EVs aren't just coming for the legacy luxury carmakers – they're about to do a full-on colonoscopy without the anesthesia.

This new 3 series? Sweet car, but 75 Lakh in Bombay? Ouch. Meanwhile, a BYD Seal Performance shaves off 20 Lakh while doing 0-100 in 3.8 seconds AND leaves you enough for a Honda Elevate beater as a 2nd car. Think about that for a second. Legacy automakers, it's time to start sweating.

Chinese EVs have already proven their battery endurance, and their quality is catching up FAST. One more generation, and those build quality differences? Gone.

The big 3 better start innovating, or they'll be the ones eating electric dust.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by TusharK

BMW has launched a new variant of the 3 Series Gran Limousine called the M Sport Pro Edition. It is based on the 330Li petrol version and is priced at Rs 62.60 lakh (ex-showroom).

The M Sport Pro Edition features a black kidney grille with Adaptive LED headlights on either side and a gloss black rear diffuser. On the interior, the car gets an M headliner in Anthracite upholstery, electrically adjustable Comfort Seats, a panoramic sunroof and ambient lighting.

BMW seems to be taking a page off VW's book. The pace at which VW launches special editions of Taigun and Virtus is bewildering, mostly they are all sticker jobs and minor alterations of plastic parts/grill. BMW has done exactly that, they have plastered on a black grill up front and that seems to make it qualified to be called the "MSport Pro"!

What Next, BMW? How about a "MSport Race edition" with stickers of a race track along the sides? Or, how about an "MSport Edge Edition" with some silver Deacals added in?

[RMN]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Chinese EVs aren't just coming for the legacy luxury carmakers – they're about to do a full-on colonoscopy without the anesthesia.

This new 3 series? Sweet car, but 75 Lakh in Bombay? Ouch. Meanwhile, a BYD Seal Performance shaves off 20 Lakh while doing 0-100 in 3.8 seconds AND leaves you enough for a Honda Elevate beater as a 2nd car. Think about that for a second. Legacy automakers, it's time to start sweating.

Chinese EVs have already proven their battery endurance, and their quality is catching up FAST. One more generation, and those build quality differences? Gone.

The big 3 better start innovating, or they'll be the ones eating electric dust.

Its definitely going to be tough for them but how is any non-chinese manufacturer going to compete with the Chinese in terms of price? It's just not possible with the Chinese makers enjoying govt subsidies. The legacy makers just need to sustain until the Chinese gain the market share and increase the prices I guess

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by RMN

Its definitely going to be tough for them but how is any non-chinese manufacturer going to compete with the Chinese in terms of price? It's just not possible with the Chinese makers enjoying govt subsidies. The legacy makers just need to sustain until the Chinese gain the market share and increase the prices I guess

Tough? They're already playing catch-up. The Chinese saw the EV future and went all-in while legacy automakers were busy milking their gas-guzzling cash cows. It was short-sighted, and now they're paying the price. Subsidies help the Chinese now, but they won't last forever. But, they're building supply chains and manufacturing muscle that'll be tough to outdo.

Legacy brands think "premium" is their escape route. Cadillac, Jaguar, the Big 3... they're clawing their way upmarket. But there's a ceiling to how high you can go. They need game-changing EV tech at the same price as their old combustion stuff, or it's game over.

Partner with the Chinese? If you can't beat them, join them? That might be the only way out of this mess they made for themselves.

[sarathlal]

BMW will be thinking, If an X1 with that specs can lead the sales charts so confidently, what an M badge could do for them.
The luxury pricing band had shifted drastically over the last few years, and the market looks like supportive as well.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-analysis.html (FY23-24 Luxury Car Sales in India - Brief Overview & Analysis)

[Asoon]

BMW needs to realise that the auto space in India has changed a lot from early 2000s. Buyers have matured, you cannot do numbers if you offering is only a badge. Purchase decisions today are made based on the merit and not just brand perception, with the internet access and access to information, every one today is a mini expert. The rise of TATA & Mahindra pushing back brands like Honda, Toyota, Nissan , VW group in the sub 30L segment is a strong proof point of that.

[smilenow]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Chinese EVs aren't just coming for the legacy luxury carmakers – they're about to do a full-on colonoscopy without the anesthesia.

This new 3 series? Sweet car, but 75 Lakh in Bombay? Ouch. Meanwhile, a BYD Seal Performance shaves off 20 Lakh while doing 0-100 in 3.8 seconds AND leaves you enough for a Honda Elevate beater as a 2nd car. Think about that for a second. Legacy automakers, it's time to start sweating.

Chinese EVs have already proven their battery endurance, and their quality is catching up FAST. One more generation, and those build quality differences? Gone.

The big 3 better start innovating, or they'll be the ones eating electric dust.

If such logic worked, the Tucson would be outselling all 60 Lakh plus luxury cars for eg the X1, Q3 etc but it doesn't. The Thar 5 door even though will come with twice the features, won't be able to match up with the Rubicon purely on the perception factor. We live in a hierarchal society. A BMW is far more than just a car, it is jewelry for a man. Toyota had to cook up the Lexus brand for this very reason. The Luxury car makers know this. The Chinese ain't catching up soon. How many Chinese brands have uprooted or even come close to Apple so far?

[RMN]

Originally Posted by DeKay

The Chinese saw the EV future and went all-in while legacy automakers were busy milking their gas-guzzling cash cows. It was short-sighted, and now they're paying the price.

Well, they dint go all in just because they saw a future, they went all in cause they couldn't do anything in the ICE market. They pretty much failed. To be honest, I don't see how any legacy manufacturers would have gone all in on EV a decade back. Near impossible that anyone would take the risk. Such risks are always the burden of the new players, the disruptors. Legacy makers would always prefer to play catch up than take such a risk.

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by smilenow

If such logic worked, the Tucson would be outselling all 60 Lakh plus luxury cars for eg the X1, Q3 etc but it doesn't. A BMW is far more than just a car, it is jewelry for a man. Toyota had to cook up the Lexus brand for this very reason. The Luxury car makers know this. The Chinese ain't catching up soon.

The Hyundai/luxury SUV comparison is flawed. Hyundai's playing in the affordable, practical space – not the prestige, performance, brand-driven world of luxury cars, which is EXACTLY where Chinese EVs are headed.

Think Genesis taking on Mercedes in the US, not Tucson vs. BMW. Genesis saw a 23% sales jump last year while Mercedes barely held steady. Even "traditional" luxury buyers want value and innovation.
If they didn't, Tesla wouldn't be outselling every legacy luxury car-maker. Speaking of Tesla, Model 3 sales in China literally halved in April 2024. Xiaomi SU7, launched around the same time, priced just slightly lower than the Model 3 in China is sitting on an order book of 70,000 units. That's not a co-incidence.

Oh and it's not just ONE "Lexus" the Chinese are cooking up; it's a whole buffet which is ever expanding. Look up Nio, Xpeng, Zeekr – each targets a different slice of the luxury market.

Originally Posted by RMN

To be honest, I don't see how any legacy manufacturers would have gone all in on EV a decade back. Such risks are always the burden of the new players, the disruptors. Legacy makers would always prefer to play catch up than take such a risk.

You're right, no one expected them to go "all in." But dedicating a sizable chunk of R&D to EVs was absolutely doable. This wasn't about "disruption," it was about foresight – something dogmatic legacy automakers and their leaders lacked. Now, BMW's building 2024 Minis in China instead of Oxford. "Playing catch-up" is not a winning strategy.

[jetpack470]

Hi guys,

As we are close to finalizing a 3 series right now anyways, I was wondering whether it would be worth it to get this M Sport Pro edition. The main feature which I am keen on is "Driving Assistant", if I understand BMW's description correctly, is driving assistant basically adaptive cruise control? Where in you set a distance between the car in front of you, and the car maintains a set speed and turns along with the curves of the highway on its own?

My daily commute is on a largely empty expressway that is conducive to the use of cruise control so thats why I am particularly intrigued by this feature.

[aspireMerc]

Seems an upgraded Series 3 launched, not sure when it is coming to India

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...updates-431746

Any idea or previous history to go with, how much time it takes to start selling the facelifted versions in India?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by aspireMerc

Seems an upgraded Series 3 launched, not sure when it is coming to India

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...updates-431746

Any idea or previous history to go with, how much time it takes to start selling the facelifted versions in India?

Unfortunately, BMW India now sells the G28 Li & Ld here, which was the original China-spec LWB version as opposed to the global G20 SWB one.

While all these updates must be applicable to the G28 too (given China is one of their biggest markets, if not the biggest), I could not find any article specifying so.

It will be inevitable though as all G28s are in SKD form; as the existing kits dwindle, India will start to get the LCI II ones; I’m expecting a Diwali (best case) to early 2025 (worst case) launch.