In China BMW is still catching up: BMW China president

"It is still not the time for BMW to relax. We will continue to make more effort in relevant areas so as to satisfy various demands of Chinese consumers." Although BMW had an outstanding performance in the Chinese market in 2005, BMW China president Dr. Christoph Stark is still very modest and said BMW is still catching up in the Chinese market.

The year 2005 is one of harvest for BMW. Globally, BMW outran Benz in sales for the first time to become No.1 brand in the luxury car market. It expanded its sale edge over Audi by 50,000 units to reach 300,000 units. In China, BMW Brilliance increased total sale by 77 percent and sale of imported cars by 20 percent, of which sale of the 3 series nearly doubled, that of the 5 series grew by 63 percent, 7 series up nearly 20 percent, and that of X3, X5 by 57 percent.

"BMW swiftly reversed the situation of declining sale and returned to the fast-growth track in 2004. These have benefited from a series of measures adopted by BMW to boost competitiveness," said Dr. Christoph Stark. The price adjustment of BMW Brilliance at the beginning of 2005 not only boosted sale, but also greatly raised the attention of consumers on BMW and demonstrated BMW's long-term commitment to the Chinese market. The new 3 series launched simultaneously with global release has received high recognition in the market. Moreover, efforts at network coverage and personnel training have also directly helped the whole-line growth.

Competition in the luxury car market will grow even tenser in 2006, Dr. Christoph Stark said, BMW will step up investment in various aspects such as production introduction, localization, marketing, service and brand. As far as products are concerned the new 3 series is still the market emphasis for BMW this year and another 2,500 units have been added to the production.

Moreover, each season, BMW releases products carrying new technologies. The M6, M5 sports cars will be introduced into China early this year. In terms of service, BMW will add another 20 outlets. "Currently, BMW car owners are mostly first-time buyers. The only way to let them become loyal BMW clients is to raise service quality year in year out, and day in day out."

Dr. Christoph Stark told the reporter that BMW client information service hot-line began test operation last month. Through it clients can make inquiries regarding any questions.

In terms of localization, domestic component suppliers of BMW have reached 46 and will reach 80 this year. Raising localization rate will greatly increase BMW's competitiveness in the market.

By People's Daily Online