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BMW: Driving sustainable growth
Last Updated: 2013-07-01 08:03 | China Daily
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BMW executives and guests at the launch ceremony of the BMW 5 Series Li Supreme Sound edition. Photos Provided to China Daily

Peter Van Binsbergen, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at BMW Brilliance

The G clef symbol near the C-column displays this limited edition's special fondness of music.

BMW is striving to "maintain sustainable and profitable growth in China," said Peter Van Binsbergen, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at BMW Brilliance.

Assigned to the position on April 1, Binsbergen made the remark after the BMW 5 Series Li Supreme Sound edition was launched on June 23 in the Southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou.

This is the first time that BMW introduced the world's top audio brand Bang & Olufsen to the segment to tap a new niche for those customers who are fond of music. This launch follows its introduction of the "Customerization Service" to the 5 Series Li sedans last month.

As a celebration of the 10th anniversary of BMW Brilliance - the German automaker's joint venture with local Brilliance Auto in Shenyang, Liaoning province that made the 5 Series Li - the Supreme Sound edition is only offering 500 models for sale worldwide.

The 5 Series are an important part of BMW's portfolio across the globe, and in the last 40 years, the model's global sales have totaled over 6.6 million units.

In 2012, the 5 Series sold over 100,000 units in China, becoming BMW's first model to reach that level.

The 5 Series' average single month sales have surpassed 10,000 units this year.

Binsbergen said the success should not focus soley on its sales, but also the quality of the brand.

Binsgergen has a lot of experience in sales and marketing in addition to dealer network building after working 19 years for BMW.

Although the new senior vice-president has only lived in China for 10 weeks, he said he has been in contact with the country for 10 years.

He has a big national map on the wall of his office and has visited Shenyang, Xiamen, Chengdu, Ningbo, Jinan and Shenzhen.

"The country is too big, thus visiting different cities I will get many different observations."

"The first question is how fast the country has developed, not only the business but also the people," he said.

He said that over the past decade, Chinese customers have become quite mature, and now their purchasing habits have evolved.

"In the past, they just pay cash to own a car, but now, they care more about its brand image, culture, environment friendliness and other added values," he said.

Customerization

In a pre-survey, 64 percent of BMW clients showed inclination to wait for a customerized model for one or two months.

Seen from the 5 Series Li orders between May and July, over 15 percent of the buyers chose customerization services.

"Currently all the 5 Series Li products provide customerization services and we will soon offer the same services on the 3 Series and X1 models," Binsbergen said.

"Now it's the right time for the customerization service to come to the country," he said.

Enhancing customer experience will be a focus of the company's next decade in the country, he said.

If the concept of "customerization service" is to strengthen the tie with existing clients, then another strategy called "Future Retail" is to nurture potential customers by enhancing retail experience "at all touch points" not only in the automotive industry, but over the all value chain, Binsbergen said.

"I believe that the 'Future Retail' program will work excellently in China in the future," he said.

Dealer network

Binsbergen said looking back to his 19 years of experience with BMW, those who are concerned with dealer network building get the most benefits.

He said this is a very important part of his future work in the country, adding that to maintain a good relationship with dealers are essential to achieving sustainable growth.

With competition more acute on the luxury auto market, profits from new car sales have been declining, thus dealers have to turn to other aspects such as after-market service, second-hand car sales, financing and insurance services for a long-term prosperity, he said, adding that these areas have a lot of potential.

In addition, strengthening the foothold in smaller Chinese cities is also vital to BMW's development, as big cities are becoming overload with luxury vehicles while demands in smaller places are still booming.

Now BMW has more than 370 dealers across the country, with over 50 percent in small and mid-sized cities.

The automaker currently has established several city showrooms in some big cities.

Binsbergen said they are considering spreading such services to small and mid-sized cities and are seeking the best locations for customer demands.

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