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The rise of BMW Motorrad Malaysia

Chronicling the rise and successes of BMW Motorrad Malaysia.

BMW G 310 R (K03)

Globally, the BMW Motorrad sub-brand has enjoyed growth and significant successes in recent years. Last year alone, the German premium two-wheeled marque raked in a record-breaking sales revenue of nearly €2 billion.

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Closer to home, the Malaysian arm of the German premium two-wheeled sub-brand is mirroring the global success on a domestic scale as well, flanked by phenomenal growth rate over the last few years. Here’s what transpired.

2014 – 583 motorcycles delivered
The firm’s 2014 successes were fuelled by a number of launches and events.

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Chief amongst which were the arrival of the S1000R streetfighter and R nineT retro roadster early on (click here to read the launch report).

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Later in the year saw the arrival of the Thai-built F800R and F800GS CKD models that were launched with lower prices over their respective CBU predecessors (click here to read the launch report).

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Contributing to the firm’s successful 2014 business year too was the inaugural BMW Motorrad Day Malaysia 2014 event held in Putrajaya. This event marked a turning point, signalling that BMW Motorrad is serious about the domestic market, and perhaps most importantly, had captured critical acclaim amongst Malaysian consumers thanks to the glitzy showrooms and spanking clean service bays. BMW were selling great bikes and a great lifestyle to go with it as well, and Malaysians loved it.

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Reflecting this fact is the popular BMW Motorrad Club Malaysia (BMWMCM) group and its members. The club is known to be among the most active in the country if not the region and not only organises regular club rides, but also acts as a mediary between the manufacturer and the owner. Currently, the closed Facebook group page boasts over 5,000 members actively interacting in it.

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BMW Motorrad would end 2014 by delivering 583 units in total, marking a significantly huge growth over a two-year period. In comparison, the firm delivered just 329 units in 2012.

2015 – approx. 1,000 units delivered
BMW Motorrad Malaysia began 2015 on a higher note and pace by launching the refreshed S1000RR superbike alongside the R1200R boxer-powered roadster during BMW World Malaysia 2015.

On top of that came the firm’s popular move of lowering its retail prices for some models following the implementation of GST (click here to read the report). This proved to be a pivotal move as a number of the marque’s models became much more accessible to consumers.

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The later half of 2015 saw BMW Motorrad Malaysia launching the new and highly acclaimed BMW S1000XR adventure sport model alongside the R1200RS sport tourer into the local line up. (click here to read the launch report)

The arrival of the refreshed F700GS and F800R models rolling out of the brand’s Thai-based assembly plant toward the end of the year capped things off for BMW Motorrad Malaysia in 2015. (Click here to read the launch report)

The arrival of these new models had perhaps solidified BMW Motorrad’s stellar line up of bikes, allowing it to cater to a multitude of consumer types and various segments of the market simultaneously.

2016 – Strong sales pace in the first half
The strong growth continued right into 2016 where the firm delivered 490 units in the first half alone – January 2016 to June 2016.

The new BMW C 650 GT and the new BMW C 650 Sport (3)

The first half also saw BMW Motorrad updating its Malaysian line up by introducing the refreshed-for-2016 C-Series maxi-scooter models – the C650GT and C650 Sport. (Click here to read our launch report)

R1200GS and GS Adventure lead the way
Globally, both the BMW R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure models are fuelling BMW Motorrad’s thriving global sales figures.

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11,732 units of the flagship R1200 GS Adventure bike were delivered globally in the first half of 2016, with 156 units of which delivered in Malaysia alone within the same period, making it the brand’s best selling model locally as well.

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In the same period, 90 units of the BMW R1200GS were delivered by BMW Malaysia, making it the second most popular bike in the brand’s current line up.

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Globally though, the BMW R1200GS model leads the brand’s global sales figures with 14,630 units in total delivered worldwide during the first half.

GS Trophy 2016
And whilst we’re on the subject of the GS, we mustn’t forget the bi-annual GS Trophy 2016 event that took place in Thailand earlier this year.

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Representing BMW Motorrad Malaysia here was renowned local rider Faizal Sukree who joined Team South East Asia in the gruelling enduro bike challenge. You can read how the bi-annual challenge serves as a real life laboratory which helps develop the R1200GS’ abilities by clicking here.

The Future
Despite the delay (click to read) of the brand’s new small capacity G310R naked bike model into the local market, it appears certain that BMW Motorrad Malaysia will achieve its target of exceeding 1,097 deliveries this year.

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Beyond 2016, BMW Motorrad Malaysia is expected to enjoy stronger growth. This time the growth will be fueled by the highly anticipated G310R. The “baby-beemer” is expected to be priced between RM30,000 to RM40,000 at launch, which will make the already desirable marque accessible to a lot more people. But whether or not BMW’s swanky showrooms and gleaming service bays are able to cope with the increase in traffic remains to be seen.

BMW G 310 R (K03)
BMW G 310 R (K03)

So yes, BMW Motorrad Malaysia has had a good run and it is about to get better. BMW’s move further down the price range and with its factories in Thailand doing a good job at building quality bikes, these are good times to be buying a BMW motorcycle.

Co-founder of Bikes Republic and a motoring journalist by night. He is a self described enthusiasts with a passion for speed but instead rides a Harley and a J300. A man of contradictions, he is just as passionate about time off in the quiets as he is about trail braking into turn one at Sepang Circuit on two or four wheels.

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