BMW launches its X3 brand in Kenya

NAIROBI – January, Wed 1, 2011 – BMW importer, Bavaria Auto, has launched the latest award-winning X3 into the local market offering more fuel efficient and comfort vehicle as it aims to boost its share of the luxury car market.

The redesigned BMW X3 compact “Sport Activity Vehicle” (SAV) is quicker, handles better, and rides more smoothly than the outgoing X3. It is also 3.4 inches longer and 1.1 inches wider and better looking. Speaking during the launch Mr Dinesh Kotecha, Bavaria Auto Director, said that Bavaria Auto has increased its unit sales. Globally, BMW sold 1,668,982 units last year.

The X3 class has been a clear front-runner in the BMW family in terms of boosting sales growth, with 117,944 vehicles sold by end of December 2011. Only weeks after its market launch it was hailed as the “Off-Roader of the Year”. The BMW X3 has made an instant and lasting impression on fans of all-wheel-drive vehicles: with readers of Germany‟s Off Road magazine voting it their favourite in the “SUV” category.

Despite a downturn in Kenya’s economy in 2011, characterised by high inflation and a weak shilling, the luxury car market in Kenya saw some growth last year, and is expected to prevail fairly through this year. The latest X3 comes standard with all-wheel-drive, “Run Flat Technology” meaning that one can continue travelling safely even if there is a flat tyre and a highly efficient eight-speed automatic transmission with a manual shifting function.

Bavaria Auto General Manager Stavros Diamantidis, said that the X3 gives better mileage compared to its predecessors. “Despite its greater power, the X3 high-tech, direct-fuel-injected engine helps give it a mileage rating that is a tiny better than that of its other siblings,” said Mr Diamantidis. In this market, the car will retail at 6 million on wards.

The latest X3 is expected to perform well in Kenya and the region as it has in all the other markets since its initial Launch in 2011. The Industry sales statistics showed the sales number of SUVs (above 1800 cc) increased from 283 units in 2010 to 324 in 2011.

For the first time in Kenya Bavaria Auto conducted product training on the complexities of the BMW X3 locally making Kenya a hub in BMW regional training centers. Bavaria The company has upgraded its Mombasa Road showroom, investing over Sh100 million, to bring it up to global standards.