Photo: F30Post.com
China recently became the world's largest auto market, overtaking the long standing USA. That will definitely cause a proper response, not only from BMW, but from all major car manufacturers around the world.
Recently, BMW opened a couple of new offices in China aimed at studying the preferences of the Chinese customer and its habits, in order to then use this information to create even better cars.
"Young Chinese consumers have very different behaviors from Europeans and we are here to learn and to find a way to properly fulfill their expectations," said Alexis Trolin, head of the BMW Group ConnectedDrive Lab in Shanghai for Autonews Europe.
Meeting these new needs is crucial for the Bavarian company if a boost in sales is to be expected. The 43-year old from Stockholm, Trolin, has been working in China since 2011 and noticed a couple of interesting facts about the Chinese culture and customs.
Recently one trend is getting more and more popular, especially amongst young Chinese people. It's called tele-dining and allows you to dine with your friends from around the world. The concept is simple: you go to a restaurant and so does your friend in another area of the country, or even the world. Both restaurants have to be from the same franchise and offer tele-dining services. This way, you can eat while also teleconferencing, kind-of like Skype.
Other peculiar tastes of the Chinese involve respect and privacy. Most of us wondered for a long time why does the Asian country need special, long wheelbase versions of the 3er, 5er and 7er and why are they so popular over there.
The research done by BMW shows that Chinese customers demand extra legroom in the back as a sign of respect for their families and friends. That explains a lot.
Another new trend in China is the usage of voice messages. Lately, most Chinese people started using this means of communication primarily because it allows them to split their timeframes even better.
All these trends and many others cannot be observed from outside the country and then implemented on future cars. That's why BMW invests so much into research and development. A bigger share of the biggest market in the world means a lot more profit. Quite ingenious.
Via: Autonews Europe
"Young Chinese consumers have very different behaviors from Europeans and we are here to learn and to find a way to properly fulfill their expectations," said Alexis Trolin, head of the BMW Group ConnectedDrive Lab in Shanghai for Autonews Europe.
Meeting these new needs is crucial for the Bavarian company if a boost in sales is to be expected. The 43-year old from Stockholm, Trolin, has been working in China since 2011 and noticed a couple of interesting facts about the Chinese culture and customs.
Recently one trend is getting more and more popular, especially amongst young Chinese people. It's called tele-dining and allows you to dine with your friends from around the world. The concept is simple: you go to a restaurant and so does your friend in another area of the country, or even the world. Both restaurants have to be from the same franchise and offer tele-dining services. This way, you can eat while also teleconferencing, kind-of like Skype.
Other peculiar tastes of the Chinese involve respect and privacy. Most of us wondered for a long time why does the Asian country need special, long wheelbase versions of the 3er, 5er and 7er and why are they so popular over there.
The research done by BMW shows that Chinese customers demand extra legroom in the back as a sign of respect for their families and friends. That explains a lot.
Another new trend in China is the usage of voice messages. Lately, most Chinese people started using this means of communication primarily because it allows them to split their timeframes even better.
All these trends and many others cannot be observed from outside the country and then implemented on future cars. That's why BMW invests so much into research and development. A bigger share of the biggest market in the world means a lot more profit. Quite ingenious.
Via: Autonews Europe
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