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      05-22-2013, 09:21 AM   #1
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Post BMW Enjoying Sales Boom in South Korea. Plans $6.2 Million Dollar Test Track

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BMW Enjoying Sales Boom in Korea. Plans $6.2 Million Dollar Test Track
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BMW along with Audi and Mercedes have experienced large sales increases in South Korea in the first quarter, each by at least 25% - faster growth than even in China.

Foreign brands have managed to secure 41% of South Korea's market for premium vehicles (up from 28% two years ago). A big part of the reason can be attributed to the lower duties on European imports - down to just 3.2% (from 8%) after a trade agreement was signed in 2011. Next year will see these taxes eliminated for most cars. These gains for the German luxury makes come at the expense of Hyundai and Kia, which count on sales of luxury vehicles in their home market for much of their earnings.

Lee Tack Young says Hyundai's vehicles are oversized, overpriced gas guzzlers. So he opted for a more modest alternative: a BMW 528i. "I was looking for a quality car that wasn't too big," said Lee, president of Cosmetic Engineering, a packaging-machinery maker near Seoul.

The 65-year-old's last seven cars were all Korean, starting with a Hyundai Excel in the 1980s. However, this time he chose his 71 million won ($64,000 dollar) BMW over an 85 million won ($76,000 dollar) K9 Kia.

BMW is planning to introduce a range of new models in Korea and the sales outlook is good enough for the company to have plans on constructing a 70 billion won ($6.27 million dollar) test track in the city of Incheon where customers can test drive BMWs at high speeds. This would be the first such facility for BMW in Asia.

BMW's upcoming South Korean track will undoubtedly draw comparisons to "NorthKoreaRing" - the Nurburgring replica to be built in North Korea.

P.S. the prior sentence is just a joke referencing a recent April Fools' joke.

Source: Bloomberg.

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