Sime Darby opens BMW 4S centre in China

CHENGDU: Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd, the motoring arm of Sime Darby Bhd opened its 10th BMW 4S (Sales, Spare parts, Service and Systems) centre here, in a move to garner a bigger share of the luxury car market in China.

Sime Darby Chairman Tun Musa Hitam said the opening of the centre reflected Sime Darby's confidence in China's luxury car segment.

"Since moving to the centre from the interim facilities in May, the company had recorded a 40 per cent increase in sales (in Chengdu)," he said at the official opening of the centre on Thursday.

Present were Sime Darby Motors Chairman Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin and Sime Darby Motors Managing Director Datuk Lawrence Lee.

The RM60 million 4S centre is owned and operated by Chengdu Bow Yue Vehicle Sales Co Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors.

With a total area of 26,000 square meters, the centre features a two-level showroom with a built-up area of 2,650 square meters, sales office as well as state-of-the-art equipment.

Meanwhile, Lee said the opening of the 4S centre would enable Sime Darby Motors to strengthen its position in the luxury car segment in the city and Western China.

"The demand for BMW vehicles continues to be robust.

"Our top-sellers in Chengdu are the 7-series and X-series models, which are the top range model for this premium marquee," he said.

Lee said last year, the total market size of luxury cars in China
amounted to 668,000 units and Chengdu alone contributed 2.9 per cent or 20,000 units.

The segment was expected to grow between 20 per cent and 30 per annually and BMW's car sales alone was forecast to grow by 29.4 per cent or 50,000 units to 220,000 this year, he said.

Lee said the company would be opening a similar centre in Chongqing, Central China, within the next 12-18 months, demonstrating the company's confidence in the country's luxury car market.

The investment was expected to cost the same as the Chengdu centre and Chongqing would be a significant investment to the company's value chain in China, he said.

He added the opening of the centres in Chengdu and Chongqing were inline with the company's target of opening similar centres in all key cities in China.

One of the largest BMW dealer group, globally, Sime Darby Motor's BMW dealership network in China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, is currently located in several locations including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, comprising 10 BMW 4S Centres, two service-only-outlet and one showroom. - Bernama