For the people who were waiting to lay their hands on the iconic small car, the BMW Mini, there is a bad news. BMW which had announced plans to launch the car in 2009, has postponed it saying its not viable to be sold here as of now.

“We will not be launching the Mini in India in 2009,” BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl said.

The company was conducting a feasibility study prior to the launch which pointed out that its not viable to launch the car in the market as of now, atleast not in 2009.

“We have taken the decision about a week back,” Kronschnabl said, though adding that the decision does not mean an end to Mini’s India launch.
“We have not abandoned the plans altogether. But yes, we have certainly postponed as conditions do not appear to be viable at the moment,” he said

BMW has been a runaway success ever since it started assembling its 3-series and 5-series cars in India for its chennai plant last year. The company had planned to launch the Mini as a CBU which would have meant a very-hefty-for-a-small-car price tag of more than 20 lakh rupees. The study pointed out that not many Indians are willing to buy the car at that price and are not ready to attach status with a car small in size, even though it comes at a much higher price than a premium sedan.

Though assembling in India would mean much lesser duties and a price tag of around 15 lakh rupees, but the market for The Mini is too small and the investment in setting up a local assembly doesnt justify the volumes.