KOLKATA: The British invented cricket while the Germans came up with the first commercial airship, aka the Zeppelin back in 1900. But when it comes to honking, or the art of horn making if you will, India rules!

No pun this. Believe it or not, the famed BMW 5 Series - one of the world's priciest cars from the German auto maker - comes fitted with horns made in India. What's more, these horns, according to BMW executives are among "the very best" in the planet.

And if you thought this just started after BMW India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW, think again. In case you didn't know, BMW's global sourcing arm has been procuring made-in-India horns for elite range of BMW 5 Series for years.

"Indian horns fitted into the BMW 5 Series are better quality than the ones available in Germany. The ones available in BMW's home country can withstand 50,000 honks while the ones from India can take one lakh honks," said Peter Kronschnabl, president BMW India.

He was talking to ET on Wednesday shortly after inaugurating the first BMW showroom in Kolkata.

"Globally, as many as 5 lakh BMW 5 Series cars are sold and India supplies horns for the the entire lot. It takes nearly two years to procure auto components from new suppliers, where the entire logistics is worked out in a way that these parts land at the manufacturing unit's site on the very day it is required. Global logistics are handled by the sourcing arm at BMW's corporate headquarters," Ralf Bissinger, director (sales and marketing) at BMW India explained.