BMW to open national training center

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT BMW (Bayerische MotorenWerke) Indonesia plans to open a training center for all company executives, as well as managers of its auto dealers at the German Center in Bumi Serpong Damai, Banten, by the end of this quarter.

BMW Indonesia, which is now in charge of the German luxury cars' distribution, has invested about Rp 40 billion (about US$4.5) in the training center.

Its president director, Jesus Cordoba, told The Jakarta Post recently that the training program to be provided at the center would be of the same quality and standard as applied by the company worldwide.

Cordoba said the opening of the center was part of its plan to establish a well-developed dealership network in order to provide better services for its customers in the country.

The 750-square-meter training center was now in the process of being furbished, and was expected to be fully operative in March of this year, he said.

The company also plans to expand its dealership network by increasing the number of its workshops and showrooms from its current 15 to 23 by the end of this year, covering Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, Balikpapan and the island of Bali.

Last year, BMW recorded a total sale of 2,276 units, controlling 52 percent of the premium market segment.

PT BMW Indonesia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG, which is based in Munich.

Since 1976, BMW AG had been a partner to PT Astra International through Astra's PT Tjahja Sakti Motor, in assembling and distributing BMW products for the Indonesian market.

Today, the 318, 325, 520 and 530 models are assembled here for the local market.

In 2001, the partnership continued in a new form, as PT BMW Indonesia was established to handle the distribution of BMW automotive products in the country, while Tjahja Sakti continued to import and to assemble BMW products.