Uwe Ellinghaus, marketing director of BMW (UK) Ltd said, "Audi customers are closer in age to BMW owners but why should anybody buy a good copy if the genuine product is available?" He said he took Mercedes seriously, "but traditionally Mercedes customers are different to BMW buyers." As BMW barely acknowledges non-German competitors, that rather suggests BMW sees itself as being in a class of its own.
In the UK, BMW is doing extremely well, with expected sales this year of between 105,000 and 110,000 - a new record. The UK is the third largest market for BMW after Germany and the USA, and takes twice as many cars as the fourth largest market, Italy.
Source: Reuters UK