Just recently, we spoke to David McGoldrick, the General Manager of BMW Group in Bahrain to know more about their plans ahead of the year.
What were the greatest challenges BMW, and the motor industry in general, faced in 2020?
The challenges can be defined in two areas: pre-Covid and post-Covid. The pre-Covid challenges were focused on the changes in people’s mobility requirements in the modern world. This includes issues on sustainability and environment as well as the costs associated with the research and development of new products. Post-Covid, would be the economic impact that affects the supply and demand of cars.
Were you able to resolve these problems?
In terms of dealing with Covid, we had to be agile. It’s not something that any of us have encountered before and we at BMW are continuing to react quickly to the circumstances each day posed.
We have innovated the way we operate and offered our services. We have pioneered in an online showroom (for new and used cars), reduced consumer touch points and made our digital offerings more visible and seamless. Our customer service has been elevated – an example of that would be our car service and repair at home.
What do you think will be the main challenges for the motor industry post-Covid?
The automotive sector is a very resilient sector. As we move forward, there is a lot of pressure on manufacturers to produce more sustainable vehicles that comes at a cost. The research and development needed to keep pace will impact the already reduced margins. Brand importers who have struggled in the past will probably not survive.
From a BMW perspective, I think we are ahead of the curve in terms of having that technology on the ground.
What are BMW’s plans for the next three to five years?
We will continue to produce amazing cars both aesthetically as well as driving dynamics. BMW is at the forefront of automotive technology – always have been. In line with that, Euro Motors will continue to invest heavily in our premises. We will also ensure that our staff are fully trained and our facilities are equipped to take on the different products BMW decides to bring to the markets now and in the future.
