Driven by the success of the 3-Series, BMW Thailand has moved its sales numbers from 7,000 units a year in 2016 to an impressive 10,000 plus units in 2017 making it the fastest growing country for the brand in terms of percentage.
Malaysians bought about 10,000 BMW’s in 2017 and this is also impressive given our population size against the Thai population but there has been little growth year on year and BMW Malaysia’s possible sales success has seen a speed bump from the strong competition from Mercedes-Benz which has seen a big jump in sales in the last 12 months.
2018 could see a positive shift for BMW Malaysia as it flattens most of the speed bumps with the launch of the X2 SUV, the plug in 530e hybrid and a slew of new plugin hybrids at selling prices that will move metal faster than sliced bread.
Mercedes-Benz will not be sitting on their success as they introduce more local assembled cars and variants and there are some surprises coming that will excite middle class Malaysians to drive home a 3 pointed star. It is going to be great year for the luxury car brands and the rest of us will just stay in the office and write about it.
