BMW’s Love Call
BMW Group Chairman Harald Krueger had a press conference in Seoul on January 11. “South Korea is the eighth-largest market in the world for the BMW Group and our annual sales volume in this market skyrocketed from less than 2,000 to more than 55,000 between 2000 and 2015,” he said, continuing, “Korean customers are very sophisticated and they constitute a reliable index in the luxury car market.”The sales volume of BMW Korea increased 18.5% last year, when its motorcycle sales volume grew 24% from a year ago to over 2,000 units.
The company is planning on a large-scale investment project in Korea, too. A total of 215 billion won is being or will be invested in its business in Korea. For example, 20 billion goes to its R&D facilities while 130 billion won is spent on the expansion of its parts supply centers, 20 billion won in additional vehicle inspection centers and 45 billion won in the BMW Complex located in Songdo. 4,500 employees are currently working for the company in Korea and 1,000 is slated to be added to the number this year.
The BMW Group is planning to cooperate more closely with Korean companies as well. “At present, we are working with Samsung in the battery cell industry and our partnerships with Korean enterprises will become increasingly important with the importance of e-mobility on the rise,” the chairman added. BMW has a total of 22 Korean companies as its primary business partners now and they are expected to supply products worth eight trillion won in total for four years to come.