Chennai-made 5 joins its 3-series sibling in India line-up.

BMW has recently begun deliveries of its new 5-series, which is made at the company’s Chennai plant. Positioned directly against its German competitors, the Mercedes E-class and Audi A6, the 5-series range includes the 523i, 525i and 530i petrol variants and one diesel variant – the 525d.

Ex-showroom prices for the petrol variants range from Rs 37 lakh for the 523i to Rs 45 lakh for the range-topping 530i. The diesel version is priced at Rs 42.4 lakh and these are applicable across all BMW dealerships in the country.

Sales are off to a strong start and, according to one dealer in the western region, they have already sold out their entire allocation of 5-series cars till October this year. Most buyers are preferring to go in for the 525i and 525d versions, while the entry-level 523i and powerful 530i are seeing less demand.

Overall, there is a distinct preference for the petrol versions, which make up about 65 percent of sales, with the remainder coming from the single diesel model on offer.

Meanwhile, sales of the imported petrol X3 2.5Si sport utility vehicle are also picking up in India. The diesel X3 3.0d version is expected to start selling from January 2008 and dealers will be taking orders for this one shortly.

As for the 3-series, which has been on sale for the last few months, the most popular version is the diesel 320d, which contributes to about half of the total 3-series sales at the moment.

Of the two petrol versions, the fully-loaded 325i outsells the entry-level 320i version.