BMW to open more showrooms

BMW plans to increase the number of dealerships in Britain from 156 to 160 by the end of the year, but has warned under-performing dealers they face losing the franchise.

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BMW plans to increase the number of dealerships in Britain from 156 to 160 by the end of the year, but has warned under-performing dealers they face losing the franchise.

BMW GB’s managing director, Jim O’Donnell, has suggested that as many as a fifth of its dealers are missing targets for after-sales service quality, staff training, showroom space and facilities.

A spokesman for BMW said that O’Donnell was ‘firing a warning shot to a proportion of the BMW dealer network’.

The warning comes in spite of ballooning BMW sales in the UK, with an increase from 67,000 cars sold in 2000 to 102,000 sold in 2004. Mini dealers, which are attached to BMW outlets, sold a further 44,000 cars last year.