BMW India Boosts Local EV Production with iX1 LWB Launch

BMW India is accelerating its electric vehicle (EV) plan as the local assembly of the BMW iX1 Long Wheelbase (LWB) begins at the Chennai plant. With this, India becomes the first right-hand drive market in the world for the local production of the iX1. This is an inflection point for BMW in its EV localization agenda.

This German luxury carmaker is seeking to make India the EV hub of its Asian ambitions, also aligning with its larger ambitions for EVs to make up approximately 30 percent of sales to total sales by the year 2030, a modest increase from the current 21 percent. Hardeep Singh Brar, President and CEO of BMW Group India, remarked that this will reduce costs and accessibility and enhance BMW's position in the premium EV segment.

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BMW has already demonstrated a strong momentum in the luxury EV segment in India, having sold 2,509 electric BMWs and MINIs between January and September 2025 - a growth of 246% year-on-year. The top accessory, the best-selling BMW iX1, was closely followed by the flagship i7 and the brand crossed 5,000 cumulative EV deliveries since 2022.

Moving forward, BMW expects to begin manufacturing the iX3 locally by the first half of 2027 on the new-class platform, which provides next-gen electric power and features of a luxury SUV.

While their rivals - Mercedes-Benz India, for example - have also entered local productions of EVs, most luxury carmakers including BMW has not fully complied with State EV incentives, even as the competition heats up to command the premium electric segment.