BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl poses with a car in Delhi on Wednesday. Picture by Rajesh Kumar

BMW is coming to town — to be window-shopped, test-driven, picked up and steered home.

Come June, the BMW vs Mercedes Benz war will burn the bumpy roads of Calcutta as the German auto major opens its first city dealership four years after its traditional rival had opted for a city address.

“We plan to open three dealerships in June 2008, at Calcutta, Ahmedabad and Cochin. With that our dealership network here will rise to 12,” said Peter Kronschnabl, the president of BMW India at the 9th Auto Expo in Delhi.

The BMW showroom will be located in Silver Arcade, adjacent to Silver Spring complex, on the Bypass. Kronschnabl admitted on Wednesday that it would be a “small one” with space for just three cars on display, but clarified that all BMW vehicles would be made available.

Nine dealers represent BMW in the Indian market today: two in Delhi and Mumbai, one each in Chandigarh, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

“We see a lot of potential in the east. We expect to do well with our diesel models in Calcutta. In the first year, we would probably do 60 to 100 units but would eventually look at a figure of 200 cars per annum,” said the BMW India president.

Having sold 1,387cars since it started its operations from Delhi in September 2006, Kronschnabl put down the “expansion of dealership” to a “successful first year in India”. Of the 1,387units sold, 743 were from the BMW 3 Series, 320 from 5 Series, 251 from 7 Series and the rest from 6 series, X3 and X5.

The 3 Series (325i, 320i and 320d) and 5 Series (523i, 525i, 530i and 525d) made in the BMW’s Chennai plant and the CBUs (completely built units) including 7 Series, 6 Series and the X range will be made available to the consumer from the dealership on the Bypass.

The price point starts at Rs 26.7 lakh (320i, ex-showroom, Calcutta), while the 5 Series ranges from Rs 37 lakh to Rs 45 lakh. The approximate investment for the Calcutta address is 3 million dollars, sticking to BMW standards.