2012 BMW 3-series F30 to be launched towards the end of July, 2012

The all-new 2012 BMW 3-series (F30) is highly awaited in the Indian market and it seems that the wait is about to get over. We are being told that BMW will launch the new 3-series in India in the last week of July 2012. Earlier, there were reports floating that the new 3-series will be launched in India on July 19, 2012, however, BMW India has confirmed with us that July 19 is not the chosen date for the 2012 3-series.

At launch, the 2012 3-series will be available with both, petrol as well as diesel powertrains. The petrols will constitute of the 320i and the 328i variants which will put out 184PS / 270 Nm and 245 PS / 350 Nm respectively. The oil-burners will come in the form of the 320d and the 330d which will produce 184 PS / 380 Nm and 262 PS / 560 Nm respectively. These will be available with the new eight-speed ZF transmission that is available on the current 5-series. 

The new 3-series will be available in three trim levels - Sports Line, Modern Line and Luxury Line - which are pretty self-explanatory. The Sport Line will have a dynamic appearance with lot of gloss-black treatment on various elements on the exteriors and the interiors. The Luxury Line will have a more premium appeal and boast of shiny chrome wherever possible. The Modern Line will be placed between the two and will aim at striking a balance between sporty and premium styling / visual elements.

Like the current E90 3-series, the F30 too will be assembled locally at BMW’s plant in Chennai. The 2012 3-series will go on sale soon after it launches on July 19. We expect the pricing to start from Rs 22 lakh. The F30 3-series will compete with the Mercedes Benz C-class, the Audi A4, the Nissan Teana and the Volvo S60. Most of these competitors have been preparing for the Beemer’s attack – the Volvo S60 has already launched its more economical D3 variants, the Mercedes Benz C-class has got new limited edition packages like the AMG Performance Edition and Audi preponed the launch of the A4 facelift and even added the S4 to the line-up. 

We seem to be looking quite some action in this segment now as the Rs 20 to 30 lakh bracket continues to become crowed with too many confusing options ranging from luxury sedans and entry level luxury brands to SUVs and premium crossovers.