BMW India, which went for an online launch of its upgraded sports activity vehicle (SAV) X1 on Thursday, expects the outbreak of coronavirus to have a long-term impact on its supply chain but with a lag.

Rudratej Singh, president and CEO of BMW Group India, told The Telegraph: “BMW is secure in the short term but in the long term we could be effected and the effect could come with a lag.”

The company had planned a physical launch of the X1 in Chennai on Thursday but cancelled the programme because of the virus scare.

On the effect on demand, Singh said: “We are already facing a structural downturn along with reforms and regulatory changes. Sentiments in the market have been down for a while and continues to remain so. While the demand in countries directly involved in the epidemic, such as China, have definitely faced a slowdown because of the virus, one cannot say such a thing has happened in India.”