The Rolls Royce faithful all cried a tear in their Earl Grey when the iconic British luxury car manufacturer became a subsidiary of German monolith BMW. Now, in a move that could push the faithful even closer to the edge, BMW has announced it may outsource a portion of Rolls Royce design and R&D to India. BMW is already in the process of setting up a 20 Million Euro manufacturing facility near Chennai to build BMW vehicles, a sales subsidiary and design center will follow shortly there after.
So far, there are no plans for Rolls Royce to assemble vehicles in India, but the presence of the design center will give them the ability of better customization for the emerging market. A move to India by Rolls Royce is expected to go much smoother than recent ventures into China by BMW. Cultural and political similarities, along with English being a second or even first language for many residents of India will make the transition much easier. This coupled with India’s much deeper pool of educated workers makes the move an attractive proposition.
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