By Chan Quan Min
Immo Buschmann
Audi marketing man Immo Buschmann has been appointed to lead a new team based in Malaysia after the Bavarian automaker takes control of the local distributorship from DRB-Hicom’s Euromobil later this month.
According to his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn, Buschmann was appointed managing director of Audi Malaysia in July.
A source further confirmed with KiniBiz that Buschmann arrived in Malaysia a full two months ago. Since then he has been in talks with senior members of DRB-Hicom’s management team to allow for a smooth changeover.
Buschmann’s appointment has not been made public but Audi is intent on taking management control of the local franchise, following parent company Volkwagen’s lead in 2009. DRB-Hicom’s wholly-owned subsidiary Euromobil will then shift gears from sole distributor to one of possibly several dealerships.
“Audi will assume a stronger role in the market itself in order to further strengthen the brand in Malaysia,” a spokesperson from Audi’s Ingolstadt headquarters said in an email reply last month.
The choice of a marketing man to lead Audi Malaysia signals that the automaker is keen to change it’s sagging fortunes. It also knows from experience in Singapore what a focused marketing strategy can do for sales.
That man is Buschmann, handpicked from his last post as regional director at the Volkswagen group’s Asia-Pacific office.
Buschmann has been with Audi, or its related companies, for 17 years, rising through the ranks with surprising speed. He started his career in the automotive group in 1998 as a trainee and before long found himself heading Audi Japan’s marketing team from 2005 to 2007.
He later went on to lead the marketing team at Audi Australia for three years up to 2010 where he pioneered the ‘one-car showroom’ concept.
Buschmann and his team will base themselves in Volkswagen’s Bangsar offices, sources tell KiniBiz. Clapping was heard in the background during a conversation this afternoon with the receptionist at Volkswagen Malaysia.
Audi’s dissatisfaction with DRB-Hicom’s Euromobil, necessitating the changeover, is due in part to a lack of investment in new dealerships. There are just five Audi showrooms in Malaysia with four of them doubling as service centres.
Competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz have far stronger dealership networks right across the country. It is no surprise that both outsell Audis four times over.
Audi sold 814 vehicles in the first half of the year, slightly under last year’s six-month average on the expiry of a tax exemption fully imported hybrid models. The popular A6 Hybrid sold out its quota of 1,000 units last year, giving the automaker a one-off boost to sales.
During the same six-month period up to June, Mercedes-Benz sold 3,455 vehicles while BMW achieved a new record of 3,724 cars sold.
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