BMW is seeking out new customers in some unusual corners of China as it rides the biggest boom in automotive history. On a recent weekday afternoon, 100 people attended an “Open Course” at a BMW dealership in Nanning, a relatively unknown backwater in the country’s southwest.
Unique to the China market, these hour-long interactive sessions typically feature a car expert and attract both BMW owners and potential first-time buyers, many of whom are novice drivers. There is no overt sales pitch, although that can come afterwards as attendees inspect cars on display in the dealership.
Michelle Wang, the executive who conceived the German carmaker’s “Open Course” concept to educate and entice China’s fast-growing population of new car owners, says BMW has “no limits [on who can attend]. We even have Volkswagen owners.”