Germany's BMW, the world's largest premium carmaker, plans to raise the number of stores in China by almost 50 percent to reach its sales targets in the country, Automotive News Europe newspaper reported, citing the head of BMW's China business.
BMW plans to open another 30 stores in China, Karl-Heinz Schmid, president of BMW China said, according to a preleased article from the edition to be published on May 12. At the end of 2007, BMW had some 70 stores in the country, the biweekly reported, without giving a timeframe in which the carmaker plans to open the new stores. BMW plans to decide this year whether to build a car powered by an electronic engine, the paper reported separately, citing Friedrich Eichiner, member of BMW's management board.