BMW bosses are considering opening a Mini assembly plant in India, it has been revealed.

Despite last year's £100m investment to expand the Cowley car plant, BMW is still struggling to keep pace with demand, with sales in mainland China set to hit a new record in 2007.

Chinese sales so far are more than double last year's, which had risen 145 per cent. India is one of the few remaining large markets.

Spokesman Angela Stangroom said: "We are doing a speculative feasibility study to see whether we could introduce Mini into the Indian market.

"At the moment, we are not selling Mini in India. When we are looking to introduce a new model, we would look at all the options, but nothing has been decided.

"At the moment, the plan is for the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series. We will look at all options as part of the investigations, but no decision has yet been made."

The car maker has announced definite plans to invest about £14m in an assembly plant in Chennai (Madras).

There is also speculation that there could be a paint shop and body shop by 2011.

If the Mini feasibility study is favourable, it could be on the Indian market by 2009.

The news comes despite repeated assurances from BMW management that Oxford will always be the home of Mini production.

Peter Kronschnabl, president of BMW India, said: "We will do a market analysis on Mini in 2007. Mini is not just a product; it is a brand, and if there is potential, we will launch it by 2009."

Meanwhile, Kay Segler, BMW's head of Mini, said Chinese dealerships were set to expand beyond the coastal region. Currently, Mini's highest market share worldwide is in Hong Kong, where 2.5 per cent of drivers own a car built in Cowley.

Mr Segler told the Shanghai Motor Show: "A new record in 2007 is surely in sight ... mainland China volume has already doubled.

"For five years now, we have announced again and again that we are not able to fully satisfy global demand for this car."

He added: "In order to satisfy future customer demand, we have invested heavily in our production capacity. So from now on, we can produce up to 240,000 units a year.

"With the market launch of the new Mini, however, we will be able to raise Mini retail volume to new record levels."

The Mini is sold in 80 different countries, with three-quarters of the Cowley-made cars exported.

The new Mini's passive safety system received five stars in the Euro NCAP Crash Test. Testers gave the new Mini Cooper 13 out of 16 points for behaviour in a head-on collision, and 16 out of 18 in side-on and pillar collision.