Michael Schmidt, general manager of Automobile Bavaria, the main BMW dealer domestically, says that given the trend of the Romanian real estate and constructions market, investing in a dealer in Germany is more profitable than investing in a Romanian one.
The Romanian constructions market determined a delay in the expansion of dealer networks.
Automobile Bavaria set up in Germany, near Munich, a BMW dealership by taking over a non-performing dealer of the German carmaker. Investments were put at 2.5m euros and the initially set sales target of 120 units a year was exceeded. In terms of size, the dealer of Germany is comparable to the one of Brasov, while at the level of the German market, it is included in the category of medium dealers.
For 2008, the company's initial sales estimates were 200-250 units, while for 2009 the sales target is of 400 cars. In the location in Bavaria, sales of used cars are also very important.
Unlike in Romania, where discounts are marketing strategies mainly used for volume cars, in Germany they are applied in the case of premium brands, too, with an impact over the dealer's profit margin.
"We will not apply a discount strategy because this is not healthy for a premium product. Volume cars can be sold from supermarkets as well, at a discount. Speaking of a premium product, one cannot start negotiating like in a bazaar," underscored Schmidt.
In 2008, BMW sales domestically will be supported by the new locations in Bucharest and Cluj. Both investments amounted to around 4m euros. Works on a new dealer, in Sibiu, will start in February, with the dealer to be finalised this year. There are also high chances that works start for new locations in Oradea, Craiova and Galati.
In Sibiu, the complex will have smaller dimensions than the ones of Bucharest and Cluj, with investments revolving around 3-3.5m
