Alvarez group to reassume control over BMW Phils

The BMW Group of Germany has decided to return control of its automobile business in the Philippines to its minority partner Asian Carmakers Corp. (ACC). The turnover will take effect Jan. 1, 2009.

In line with this BMW Philippines, owned 70 percent by the BMW Group and 30 percent by ACC, will be dissolved by December.

In an exclusive interview with The STAR, ACC chairman Jose Ch. “Pepito” Alvarez  said the BMW automobile business in the country will remain intact, but would now revert back to the control of ACC which had previously controlled the franchise.

“It’s the same. Before, they wanted to take control so I let them. Now, because of their restructuring, they’ve decided to return control back to us,” Alvarez explained.

Alvarez said ACC is expanding its BMW business with a P250-million investment for an automotive technical institute that would train automotive service technicians for the Middle East, China, North Asia, Korea and Japan.

“It will be even better,” Alvarez stressed.

He said the BMW Group will continue to provide technical support while marketing and sales will be taken over by ACC.

“All the German technicians will remain while we will also train more service technicians,” Alvarez said.

The institute, Alvarez said, hopes to train and graduate 25 to 50 technicians every three months and send them mostly to the Middle East and China.

According to Alvarez, BMW continues to be the No. 1 in sales in the luxury car segment.

So far, this year, Alvarez said, BMW has sold 865 units with the total for the year expected to reach almost 900 units. However, the prospects for next year are not as good, with sales going down to between 600 and 800 units, he said.

This is due to the forthcoming election and to the effectivity of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which would give Japanese cars a strong price advantage over their European counterparts.

In a press statement, BMW Asia managing director Roland Krueger, who oversees the BMW business in the Philippines, said that BMW Philippines would be “restructured.”

By Jan. 1 next year, ACC will take over the importation of BMW automobiles and “further development of the BMW automobile business in the Philippines.”

According to Krueger, “the restructuring is a logical step in view of the objective to increase business efficiency worldwide.”

“Our top priority is to ensure the best sales and service standards to our customers in the Philippines and this priority will remain unchanged,” he said.