[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by theEnd

Now if you wanted to "sprint" from 80-120 km/h then you wouldn't really be in 4th or 5th gear, would you? Try the same in 2nd/3rd and it would be a whole different story (and much shorter timings).

Roll-on timings in high gears are simply an indication of how responsive a car is to a lazy driver who doesn't want to downshift. These tests are the best way to try and sell a diesel. Conversely, somebody could try to measure the time taken to get from 2500rpm to 7000rpm in 2nd gear. Let me guess the timings for that... 535i: 4 seconds, 530d: infinity!

maybe true. but all i did was copy paste the timings from the bmw ag website. That apart, i dont see the logical reason behind them trying all these things to "sell" the diesel. It invariably would be the better sold 1 out of the 2. That apart, its not like they would get a premium out of selling the D. Both are more or less of the same cost.

[BikerSG]

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

You got it right, time for Mercedes-Benz India to get more pro-active with the W212 (E) cause the greatest 4 door mid size luxury sedan (BMW 5) is coming in the last week of April or early May.

Initially only 535i. Other models will arrive in few months, but cannot wait for this car to come in. (Source : BMW Dealer)

P.S I apologize if there is a thread for this but could not locate.

The F10 5 series is being launched in UK on 20th March (if I remember correctly).

April/May launch in India sounds kinda tough to me. When I spoke to the BMW dealer in Chennai (KUN Exclusive) they mentioned september launch for Petrol & december launch for Diesel.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

what is Toyota doing?
Its about time you guys got Lexus into the market !!!.

Maybe after audi(a relatively unknown brand) becomes more famous than Lexus in the indian general public mind,will they mull over launching the Lexus brand
I mean what are they planning to do?,maybe the problem is other than the IS they dont have a diesel engine on the other models to compete with the germans.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

News is out people. Latest news piece on the ACI website. here is the link -

New 5-series, X1 in India soon | Autocar India


The f10 5 series will go on sale July onwards followed by the x1 in december. according to them ,BMW will start off with the 535i & 520d. No mention of the 530d as of now. Perhaps it would be launched at a later date

[v1kram]

Saw the new 5 series GT yesterday, looked like a compressed version of X6 from behind, overall the design was good.

[FlyingSpur]

I've heard of a July launch, with the initial batch being CBU's. Any confirmation on this?

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

I've heard of a July launch, with the initial batch being CBU's. Any confirmation on this?

To answer your question , these are the first 3 lines of the ACI report whose link i have pasted in the previous post. It says-

"BMW has announced that it will launch its latest 5-series and X1 in India by the second half of 2010. Shipped as completely knocked down units (CKD), the new BMW 5-series (code named as F10) will go on sale starting July this year followed by the X1 launch in December."

Wont be CBUs , will be CKDs

[V-16]

Now the outgoing 5 will be a steal to buy. Discounts galore, adding to what is already available.

[avishar]

It is surprising they are launching the 520d,I thought BMW will be going for a top to down variant launch like mercedes.

[acidkill]

i will miss the eagle eye headlamps. RIP old 5

[quickdraw]

The 530d is amazing. The kick in the butt you get with it is simply outstanding. I've driven cars with more BHP but 530 is like the most fun you can have with diesel ever!

[cyqed]

sweet Jesus - Finally, this car came home. After seeing this news, I have Etta Jones' - At last my love has come along - Song playing in my head.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by avishar

It is surprising they are launching the 520d,I thought BMW will be going for a top to down variant launch like mercedes.

Maybe they might end up launching the 530D within a few days itself of the 520D. The 535i would be the flagship petrol here in India IMO, so one would expect that they would launch the flagship diesel along with the top petrol. Maybe they might even launch the 530D along with the 535i itself, just that it hasnt been mentioned in the article. Fingers crossed

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Maybe after audi(a relatively unknown brand) becomes more famous than Lexus in the indian general public mind,will they mull over launching the Lexus brand
I mean what are they planning to do?,maybe the problem is other than the IS they dont have a diesel engine on the other models to compete with the germans.

Toyota is an established laggard; they took all of 4 years to get the Fortuner here. An SUV that had a ready market!

Originally Posted by V-16

Now the outgoing 5 will be a steal to buy. Discounts galore, adding to what is already available.

You can say that again, V-16. 7 lakhs off on the 530d. You buying?

[SumitBahl]

Read in today's HT:


With the leadership position in its bag in India, much ahead than what it had projected internally, BMW India looks set the withstand rivalry from its two other German counterparts - Mercedes Benz and Audi, with the number of launches and other initiatives including the start of a used car business this year.

With a little over 3,500 units as sales, India is a small market for the German carmaker in its global operations, but even in then India finds a separate mention in its annual report by way of a thirteen page supplement on India. The company has now set a target of over 4,00 units sales for 2010 that will mean another year of double digit growth. During this year, BMW will launch the new 5 series in July and the premium small SUV X1 with a Rs. 25-Lakh price tag in December.

"In 2010, we aim to achieve double digit growth. In absolute numbers we want to achieve sales of over 4,000 units," said Peter Kronschnabl, president, BMW India. "The Chennai plant has a capacity of 3,000 units annum. We will also invest more on our plant."

With the expansions in the pipeline, the company is also looking to increase the head count in its plant by a third. Currently, around 200 people work in its factory.

Further, the company is starting up it's pre-owned car business (BMW Premium Selection) in India, which it hopes will account for as much as a third of its sales once the outlets have a national presence.

"The pre-owned car segment has a big potential in India, because till date there is not much of an organized format here," Kronschnabl said.