Mini-India Mini finally rolls into Delhi and Mumbai

Dubai: The Minis have made it to India. Infinity Cars, which handles the BMW brand for Mumbai, recently won the rights for the Mini for the same market. The first shipments arrived this month, with four variants of the model available.

"The association with BMW gained us a following among car enthusiasts [and] the manufacturer saw us as being appropriate partners for the brand in Mumbai," said Pooja Choudary, managing director, Infinity Cars.

The starting price for the Mini will be Rs2.55 million (Dh166,490).

The BMW Group, which owns the UK marque, has confirmed it has no plans to set up a dedicated assembling facility in India and thus strive to bring down the end-user prices.

To start with, there will be two standalone Mini showrooms in Delhi and one in Mumbai.

And since the Mini is as much about lifestyle as it is about a driving experience, the Mumbai showroom comes with an all-day dining restaurant — "an environment unseen in Mumbai car retail," Choudary added.

"The focus for the current year is to establish the brand in our local market. But early projections look promising — the Mini is strategically placed to make its mark within the Indian luxury car market."