Simba Corporation has lost its BMW car dealership to
London-based Inchcape Plc which recently acquired the Jaguar Land Rover
(JLR) franchise from RMA Group.
Sources familiar with
the matter told the Business Daily that Munich-based BMW AG had notified
Bavaria Auto — the subsidiary through which Simba Corp sells luxury
cars — of its intention to transfer the franchise to Inchcape.
A
formal announcement is expected to be made in the next few weeks and
the UK multinational is set to start selling BMW cars from early next
year. “Inchcape is taking over the BMW dealership from Bavaria. An
announcement to this effect will be made soon,” said one source.
Another source said the move comes after the German automaker
reviewed its global distribution strategy aimed at working with a few
dealers who take control of sales in multiple markets. Inchcape is
expected to sell BMW cars in more than eight markets in the region
including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
The change in
BMW’s local dealership continues the musical chairs seen in Kenya’s new
vehicle market where automakers are constantly reviewing their existing
franchisees.
The churn, for instance, saw DT Dobie take
over the Volkswagen dealership from CMC, DT Dobie lose Nissan franchise
to Crown Motors and General Motors terminate Isuzu East Africa’s sale
of Chevrolet cars.
Bavaria has been selling BMW cars since 2008 when it took over the franchise from Mashariki Motors.
For
Inchcape, the takeover of BMW marks a rapid expansion in the local
market where it bought out the JLR franchise from RMA Group in June.
The
UK multinational will now have the biggest market share in the new
luxury car market, placing it ahead of rivals DT Dobie which sells
Mercedes models and Porsche Centre Nairobi.
Sales of
BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover models stood at 74 units or 54 per cent of
the total 137 units sold in the industry in the half year ended June,
indicating the market share Inchcape will inherit.
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