Sometimes the most expensive may not be the best way to enter a market. With that said BMW is changing the way they plan to target ultra luxury Chinese consumers. Not a bad luxury PR move and we at MosnarCommunications.com is calling this the smartest luxury PR move maybe ever. When the numbers are in we will all know why.
Truly, right now Audi has the expensive luxury car brand locked down targeting the China luxury market. So BMW is shifting gears and offering something a little different. Luxury is a perception and the most important challenge for any luxury car brand right now is to educate the consumer on what they have to offer.
Bigger BMW 3-Series The Luxury Car Newness
The stretch 3-Series, made uniquely for the Chinese market, is 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) longer than the regular model and is part of a broader effort by German luxury-car makers to sell more cars targeted toward first-time buyers in China, after years of focusing on selling their priciest models.
“The premium market here is developing from the top downward,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales chief, said this week at the Beijing auto show. “Over time, you will see the smaller segments growing more rapidly.”
The small car market in China is currently dominated by high-volume manufacturers like General Motors Co. (GM) (GM) BMW, Daimler AG (DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi are expanding into that market to boost growth and lessen reliance on their biggest models like the 7-Series, half of which are sold in China, as overall car sales in the country slipped 1.3 percent in the first quarter.
The young rich Chinese who are ready to sample luxury cars are happy to start smaller. This is an entry for luxury car markers to build brand relationships.
“The second generation of the rich Chinese is growing up and shopping for cars,” said Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary general of China’s Passenger Car Association. “Luxury automakers want to lure those young customers with lower-end product and prepare them to trade up.”
Get ready to embrace luxury car newness! The BMW 3-Series is the newness for luxury cars.