The world’s largest luxury car maker, BMW is reconsidering launching its Mini sub-brand in India by the end of the current year. The company had previously put its Mini plans on hold after a feasability study found the launch to be ‘not viable’ at that time.

The Mini will cost a whopping Rs 20 Lakhs when launched in India according to Peter Kronschnabl, the president of BMW’s India unit. The price tag will make Mini the most expensive small hatchback in the country eclipsing even the Fiat 500 which is sold for a paltry Rs 15 Lakhs.

“Last year we decided to postpone the launch of Mini in India by a year, as we had doubts regarding the viability of the project. We would again take a look at it by the end of the third quarter of the calendar year,” he added.

The luxury hatchback market was not developed in India, and the investment to launch a new brand would be substantial, Kronschnablhe said.

“So we have to re-look at the potential business opportunity before launching it,” he said.

BMW have so far sold 1,747 cars in the Indian market this year, a quarter of total luxury car sales of 7,400 and its sales growth of 12% is way better than overall growth of 1.5% for the segment.

The company has also raised its annual plant capacity from 1,700 units to 3,00o units on a single-shift basis at a cost of $750,000.

BMW is confident of selling 3000 units this year in the Indian market. The company is also very close to signing agreements with global manufacturers for sourcing components from India, starting with forging and casting materials.