The BMW Group has its eyes on China. China is currently BMW Group’s largest market worldwide. Here is an interesting interview that took place between the Automotive News China Managing Editor Yang Jian and Stadtler during the Beijing auto show in April. Some is quoted below and the rest can be found here.
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How much progress have you made expanding your business in China?
We started offering financial services in China in late 2010. Now, for every three BMW cars sold in the market, one is financed by us and two are insured by us. We launched BMW Extended Warranty in China last year, and we are increasing penetration in this new business line.
Are you satisfied with your progress?
We had a good start. BMW Automotive Finance China is fully integrated within the BMW Group’s value chain by now and generates a profit. Now, it is important for us to strengthen the organization, keep developing our staff and enlarge our product portfolio to manage growth…
You worked for BMW’s auto finance unit in Germany, Thailand and Japan. What are the penetration ratios of BMW’s retail finance in other markets?
In Germany, BMW has a penetration ratio of 60 percent; in Japan, over 50 percent and in the United States, more than 70 percent. The penetration of our retail finance in China reached 30 percent; it is one of the highest among all automotive financing companies in China. But there is still much room for [expansion].
What are the things about car buyers in China that impress you most?
The customers here are definitely young and they are really keen to explore new possibilities and are open to new ideas. The strong growth in all our business lines mirrors the change of mindset among Chinese car buyers, who are becoming more sophisticated about financing and insurance.
Also, I was surprised to [discover] that there are over 500 million Internet users in China and many of them have opened Internet blogs and use WeChat (a Chinese equivalent to Twitter). I believe this massive social media community provides great possibilities for us to get the word for our products and services out there.”