CAIRO: After re-launching Egypt operations in 2004, BMW has established itself in the local market, building the company's largest manufacturing plant in Africa in Sixth of October City and registering significant year-on-year growth in sales. As the company undergoes sales restructuring in its head offices, merging the Munich-based sales offices of its Caribbean, African and Eastern European operations, a number of BMW's top sales executives paid a visit to Cairo to improve their understanding of the Egyptian market. While here they invited Daily News Egypt and select members of the press for a roundtable discussion at the Mena House Oberoi hotel to talk about BMW's experience in Egypt thus far, and its plans for the future. Farid El-Tobgui, executive board member of Bavarian Auto Group (BAG), BMW's sales agent in Egypt, began with some facts and figures, noting that BMW Group's sales in Egypt - including BMW, Mini Cooper, and Rolls Royce - grew by 28 percent on those of 2006, and the company's number of employees had increased by 21 percent. BMW's corporate social responsibility project, which since 2004 has totalled LE 20 million, he continued, had seen the opening of a mosque, and the near completion of a retirement home and foster home for orphan girls.El-Tobgui also promised "a lot of surprises for 2008. "Just watch us, he said. Rudolf Wallisch is the managing director for BMW's Eastern European regional office and will now be responsible for Africa and the Caribbean as well. He said that outside of the EU and America, Egypt was BMW's second biggest investment portfolio after Turkey. The BMW plant in Cairo currently assembles the 320i, 523i, 525i, and 530i models, in addition to the BMW X3, BMW 7 Series and 7 Series Individual, making Egypt one of only three countries in the world that assemble the BMW 7 Series He hinted that the country's economic reforms were related to BMW's increased presence in the Egyptian market, and referred to Egypt's economy as "exciting. "When you see high duties and taxes on car sales come down, car ownership becomes more accessible - so in this respect I see strong sale's growth in Egypt, Wallisch said, adding that he acknowledged competition would intensify at the same time. When asked how BMW intended to expand its customer base while retaining its exclusive image, Wallisch said that BMW's target customers in Egypt are "expanding in numbers and purchasing power, implying that the market would do most of the work. The BMW 5 Series was the bestselling model in Egypt, he said, and total BMW sales figures had climbed from 2,200 in 2006 to 2,556 in 2007. He pointed out that other BAG cars such as the Mini Cooper - in contrast to BMW's disastrous experience with Rover - were beginning to pick up as well. "The Mini finds its own customers wherever it is sold, Wallisch said. "It is a timeless product. Kevin Coon, BMW's sales and marketing manager for Central and Eastern Europe, said that BAG were even considering Cairo as an upcoming destination for the annual Mini International event, itself a possible prelude to the opening of a Mini showroom in downtown. "We had it in Istanbul a couple of years ago, Coon said, "and Egypt is very similar to the Turkish market in terms of economic growth. Cairo would be an interesting destination.
