2003 was the year when Magdalo staged the Oakwood mutiny, Fernando Poe Jr. announced his presidential candidacy, and Kris Aquino broke-up with Joey Marquez on national TV. But more importantly, it was also when BMW began its 11-year reign as the top luxury car brand in the Philippines.
As for 2013, the German brand sold a total of 653 units, which accounts for 34% of the market – beating Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Lexus. *woot woot* That roughly means 1 out of 3 luxury cars sold last year was a BMW, securing their position at the top of the food chain.
To everyone’s surprise, the 5 Series was the best-selling model of 2013, dethroning the usual favorite, the 3 Series. These guys sold a total of 213 units, which makes up for 32.57% of BMW’s overall sales in the country. What’s more amazing is how BMW was able to sell more units of the 5 Series as the model aged, with 140 units sold in 2011 and another 194 in 2012.
Either word got around how good the 5 Series was or everyone in the neighborhood wanted to be in the ‘in’ crowd and got one themselves.
2013 was also the year BMW launched FlexiLease where individuals can own a BMW without having to worry about services and maintenance costs. Convenient. This saw 98 units fly out of the showroom and made up 15% of their total sales of the year.
Other notable milestones in 2013 were the launch of the updated X1 and the all-new 3 Series Grand Turismo.
BMW is hoping to maintain their top dog status by expanding its dealership network in 2014. The first of which is AutoAllee BMW in Eton Centris, North EDSA, followed by the 23-storey BMW Bonifacio Global City that will also house Asian Carmakers Corporation’s (ACC) corporate HQ. Then, we’ll see 2 new models this year: the all-new 4 Series Coupe and all-new X5.
Good job BMW.
