Power Play

We speak to Christopher Wehner, managing director of BMW Asia, and Markus Flasch, CEO of the carmaker’s performance arm, BMW M, on both literal and figurative power.

- Daryl Lee

When BMW unveiled its long-term vision to be the top carmaker in the premium segment during its centenary celebrations in early 2016, we thought that it was a powerful statement.

It’s fairly commonplace for carmakers to project an optimistic outlook, but it’s something else entirely when a manufacturer tells you that it plans to supersede all of its rivals in what can best be described as a highly competitive environment.

BMW would never tell you who those rivals are exactly; but looking at the sales numbers, one particular brand does come to mind, a brand that BMW has long been second to (we’ll give you a hint: its badge takes the form of a three-pointed star). In the past few years, BMW has been steadily closing the gap, and as of last year, it sold 2.14 million cars, against the 2.34 million recorded by the brand-that-shall-not-be-named.

The competitive spirit is keenly felt in Singapore – despite the low numbers caused by the idiosyncrasies of the COE system – which means that there’s an upper limit on how many cars can be sold each year. Last year, BMW racked up 5,346 registrations, coming in second place to the 7,840 registrations posted by its arch-rival.

The most obvious way for a carmaker to book itself a ticket to the top spot is to increase volume – mainly by expanding its line-up. To that end, the Bavarian carmaker has been on an absolute tear in 2019 (and for the first few months of 2020) launching 30 or so new models and variants in Singapore. This is something that Christopher Wehner, managing director of BMW Group Asia, describes as “the biggest product offensive we have seen in the history of the BMW Group”, adding that “there’s a lot more to come (in 2020)”.