KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — BMW Group Malaysia has taken the leadership position in the automotive premium segment in Malaysia, following its success with top-performing figures and customer satisfaction in 2020.

In a statement today, the premium automaker said it rose above the challenges by introducing 25 model variants from across its three major brands — BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad — in which four models were electrified vehicles (EV).

"The group delivered 11,016 vehicles from across the portfolios in 2020, of which over 87 per cent were locally assembled, cementing their leadership in the premium automotive segment nationwide with over 52 per cent market share,” it said.

It said the success in Malaysia mirrors the BMW Group’s performance with over 2,300,000 units delivered worldwide, including over 190,000 EVs from the BMW and MINI brands that chart an increase of over 30 per cent in EV deliveries from the year before.

BMW Group Malaysia managing director Harald Hoelzl said the success could not be achieved without the support of customers, nationwide dealer network and the Malaysian government who supported the automotive industry with the sales tax exemptions.

He said the group also recorded the highest achievement in Net Promoter Scoring — a metric used in customer experience programmes — for customer satisfaction, achieving over 90 per cent positive satisfaction responses with the BMW and MINI brands in 2020.

The BMW brand recorded 8,903 new owners in Malaysia last year, leading the overall premium segment by over 47 per cent, contributed by top-performing BMW 3 Series which saw over 2,500 units delivered, followed by BMW 5 Series with over 1,600 units delivered.

The BMW X Family contributed to over 39 per cent of total BMW deliveries, charting over 3,200 units of vehicles delivered from within the portfolio in 2020.

Meanwhile, MINI Malaysia recorded 987 deliveries last year, BMW Motorrad Malaysia with 1,126 deliveries and 2,200 deliveries of electrified BMW and MINI vehicles.

"For the first time, our total deliveries were strongly led by our line-up of locally-assembled vehicles from the BMW and MINI brands in Malaysia, which accounted for over 87 per cent of our total deliveries,” Hoelzl said.

The group’s success was also reflected by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia that financed over 42 per cent of BMW vehicles, 45 per cent of MINI vehicles and 60 per cent of BMW Motorrad motorcycles delivered last year.

Hoelzl added that the group remained hopeful in the recovery of the automotive landscape in Malaysia this year, while ensuring the new normal is kept to the best standards. — Bernama