BMW Sales to Recover in 2015, Eyes Double Digit Growth

Asian Carmakers Corp. (ACC), the official distributor of BMW in the Philippines, said sales of German vehicles could continue to recover in 2015.

Growth by double digit this year is possible on the back of the introduction of new models and the country’s hosting of the APEC meet.

“BMW, year-over-year for the first four months of 2015, grew by 17 percent. We’re really on a recovery mode. In 2014 BMW grew 11 percent, which is faster than the luxury segment’s 9 percent for the same period,” said ACC president Maricar C. Parco.

“We are launching new products this year, including the 2 series; and being the mobility partner for the Apec hosting, we have 200 cars ready to be resold to the market. We’ve already sold half of it, and there are reservations for half,” Parco added.

ACC said it is planning to source BMW motorcycles from Thailand to avail itself of the preferential 0-percent tariff for ASEAN-sourced imports.

“This is still a plan being discussed but if it happens, we’ll be more competitive in terms of pricing of our motorcycles. The tariff rate we have now, sourcing the motorcycles from Germany, is between 10 percent and 20 percent,” Parco said.

ACC is a wholly-owned Filipino company under the Alvarez Group of Companies, headed by its chairman, Jose Chavez Alvarez. It was appointed the official importer and service provider of BMWs in the country in 1999.