Diesel banned in Delhi, BMW reintroduces petrol models
12 May 2016
Luxury car maker BMW, which had withdrawn its petrol powered 3 and 5 Series cars almost a year ago from the Indian market, has re-introduced the petrol models of its 3 Series.
BMW has launched the 320i model in the Prestige and Luxury line variants starting at Rs36.9 lakh and Rs42.70 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) respectively.
With the diesel vehicle ban in the Delhi National Capital Region affecting sales of many car manufacturers, BMW suffered losses in the all-important NCR. This could be a major propelling factor for the carmaker to reintroduce the petrol models in India.
Both these variants will be powered by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo petrol mill that churns out 181.5bhp of power and 270Nm of torque. An eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard on the transmission front, whereas the Luxury Line gets a paddle shift as well.
These petrol models will get features similar to its diesel-burner sibling already available in the Indian market. This is the facelifted model that gets some changes to the exterior differentiating it from the earlier model.
The cabin is packed with features like new electrically-adjustable front seats, dual-zone climate control, BMW iDrive system, 6.5-inch screen, BMW apps, ambient lighting etc.
The luxury line gets bigger 17-inch alloy wheels instead of the 16-inchers, an electric sunroof and different upholstery. There is also a larger 8.8-inch iDrive touch infotainment system that supports handwriting recognition and navigation in this trim.
The BMW 3 Series 320i will be brought in as a CBU unit, unlike the diesel sibling that is assembled here. The carmaker has already imported a few cars and is yet to dispatch these to dealers across the country. We can expect deliveries to begin by mid-June.
According to import/export data website Zauba, BMW India has imported the petrol powered 320i and 520i into India. However, there is no official announcement from the car maker about the petrol powered 320i and 520i India launch till now.
