Sales surge, marketing rush and further focus on customer experience

The Year of the Horse has great meaning to BMW AG as its Chinese name Baoma means "precious horse".

With an "unexpected big jump" in sales in the first quarter, the German premium car producer looks to register double-digit growth for the whole year as it launches an aggressive new marketing campaign, new products and more focus on customer experience.

"It was a good start, better than we expected," said Karsten Engel, president & CEO, BMW Group Region China.

"We ended the first quarter with 25.4 percent year-on-year growth representing 107,951 BMW and MINI vehicles on the Chinese mainland, a new sales record."

In March alone, monthly sales for the first time surpassed 40,000 BMW and MINI vehicles.

"We finished with 362,000 BMW cars sold last year," said Engel. "It helped boost our confidence to see 400,000 this year, which is actually a bit more than 10 percent."

Though China's overall passenger market has already picked up from nearly stagnancy in 2011 and 2012, there is still something else behind Engel's strong confidence for further success in China.

Engel said the Munich-headquartered company will bring in more than 10 new imported models to fuel local purchase enthusiasm.

The coming fleet includes several Horse editions to highlight BMW's year of the Chinese zodiac. In January the company launched the M6 Grand Coupe and new M5, both in limited Horse Edition, to kick off its Horse campaign.

At the Beijing auto show it will debut a limited Horse edition of only 600 units for the 7 Series tailor-made for Chinese consumers.

"And there will be more, for the 3 Series, M3 and M4 to celebrate BMW's year," said Engel.

As well, it has started Brand Experience Centers and a Product Genius program as part of the company plan called Future Retail.

"Future Retail is a comprehensive, long-time strategy. The Brand Experience Centers for BMW and MINI we opened in Shanghai last year were the first of their kind in and beyond the auto industry, taking customer experience into top consideration," said Engel.

Product Genius reps welcome customers and provide pressure-free consulting, part of a relaxing environment for customers to focus on the BMW brand.

BMW now has 350 special-trained Product Genius employees in more than 300 dealerships around the nation. They explain everything about BMW cars in a professional way but are not allowed to sell even one car. BMW finds that on average customers stay 25 minutes longer in dealerships that have a Product Genius.

Sustainability

Only one week before the Beijing auto show, Brilliance BMW, the German company's local joint venture, celebrated the first anniversary of its self-developed electric car brand ZINORO by announcing an attractive leasing price for the brand's first model, the 1E.

As well, "BMW will bring our imported i8 and i3 electric cars in the third quarter, further enhancing our commitment to the sustainable mobility," said Engel.

The luxury electric models will be first provided in seven top-flight BMW outlets in four cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Shenyang .

"The i8 and i3 will be very important brand shapers for BMW in the Year of Horse, providing emission-free green transportation like horses," said Engel.

BMW has now extended its distribution network to 424 dealerships in its largest country market. MINI brand independent dealerships total 90 outlets.

"Last year we opened 60 new dealerships, 60 percent of them in third- to fifth-tier cities and this year we will probably have 50 more, at least half in smaller cities," said Engel.

But what makes the Hannover-born 56-year-old executive most proud is that almost 250 dealerships, 65 percent of the total, have BMW Warm Heart ambassadors.

"Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of our dedication to taking strong root in China as we see it as a core part of our overall strategy," said Engel. "During the past five years, our charity Warm Heart Fund has borne fruit through the efforts by a range of stakeholders."

Since founded in 2008, the fund has distributed 44 million yuan ($7.1 million) and directly benefits more than 70,000 people in China. More than 50,000 BMW customers and associates have been engaged in the Warm Hear Fund activities.

"The fund is a very clear concept bringing our employees, dealers, and customers together to help people," said Engel. "It's transparent, and we are always trying to integrate as many people as possible for specific projects.

"The CSR concepts are also part of BMW's sustainability, giving back to the people, to the country," said Engel.

Engle said BMW will redouble efforts on its existing projects that support culture, art, education, the environment and those in poverty.

"We want to be deeper, not broader, in the society in the future through our continuing sustainable efforts."

lifangfang@chinadaily.com.cn