BMW making strides 15 years after debut
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter
When BMW tapped into the Korean market back in 1995, the country was not an ideal place for foreign carmakers. Overly patriotic motorists tended to turn their backs on overseas brands and some criminal rings even attacked drivers of foreign vehicles.
Things are diametrically different now ― BMW Korea sold 7,847 vehicles in the first half of this year to break the half-year record among imported auto brands here. In June, its monthly figure reached 1,711, the highest ever in the firm’s history.
``When we started our operations here 15 years ago, we struggled to sell 200 or 300 cars a year. With our utmost efforts, we could only market around 500 units per annum,’’ BMK Korea President Kim Hyo-joon told a press conference held in time for the 15th anniversary of the firm’s launch in Korea.
``In this climate, many were surprised in the early 2000s when we announced the annual sales goal of 10,000 units for a market share of 1 percent against a field of local giants.’’
Kim silenced critics once and for all by achieving the bold target. This year the Seoul-based subsidiary is on the pace to sell more than 15,000 cars with a market share of 20 percent among foreign brands. Its initial 2010 goal was 13,000.
The charismatic CEO, who took the reins of BMW Korea in 2000, pointed out that the punch line is not in the numbers but the paradigm shift.
``In the late 1990s, Korea was a typical seller’s market in automobiles and the overall industrial viewpoint was stuck inside the national border despite the huge amount of production and exports,’’ Kim said.
``What we wanted to do was to make local makers compete with global brands on level ground and turn the focus to the customers. The results of the efforts were increased market share and sales.’’
Indeed, BMW has set the pace among international car brands in Korea. On top of first setting up a legal entity here, it introduced auto-financing schemes in 2001 for the first time.
BMW Group Vice President Guenther Seemann, who oversees the German-based automaker’s Asia-Pacific and South African operations, also praised the leadership of President Kim at the ceremony.
To keep its growth momentum, BMW Korea said that it would launch innovative models such as the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7. In addition, it will hold BMW Innovation Day in Sept., when the firm’s futuristic lineup will be on display.
In the meantime, BMW decided to present 15 vehicles to the automobile departments of 15 universities or high schools to celebrate its anniversary.