"The mission statement up to the year 2020 is clearly defined: the BMW Group is the world 's leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility."
BMW is one of the most widely know luxury class car manufacturers in the world. They have great branding strategy and technology but the entrance of Japanese manufacturers in the U.S. auto market creates a problem for BMW. Japanese companies have luxury cars that are lower in price and maintenance and they have the technology to compete with these German vehicles.
BMW must take action to compete with the Japanese auto companies by putting great emphasis on quality service at a reasonable price to gain the competitive advantage.
History of BMW
BMW is a manufacturer of aircraft engines, motorcycles and automobiles based in Munich, Germany. They are the leading auto exporter in Europe. BMW designed their first aircraft engine in 1917. In 1923, they developed their first motorcycle. In 1928, they entered into the automobile business. By the 1930’s, the company began producing touring cars and sports cars. They introduced a new motorcycle to the German market in 1948 after Allied forces dismantled the company’s main factories in 1945.They returned to producing automobiles in the 1950’s but sales were poor. They began competing with Mercedes Benz in the luxury car markets in the U.S. and Europe in the 1960’s by producing sports sedans and compact touring cars. BMW’s sales climbed in the 1980’s in the U.S. but then dropped due to competition from Toyota’s Lexus and Nissan’s Infinity. In 1992, BMW outsold Mercedes for the first time in Europe after the collapse of the Berlin Wall led to a boom in Europe’s car sales. In 1990, BMW began producing aircraft engines for business jets through a joint venture with Rolls-Royce. In 1992, they built their first automobile plant in the United States in Spartanburg, S.C. In 1994, they acquired 80% of a British