Montreal – The first time Franz Jung came to Canada, he was 19 years old. He was vacationing with his parents. "In those days, I never could imagine that I would come back to Canada as the president of a company!”
Interviewed at a round table event organized for the automotive press this week in Montreal, the new president of BMW Canada wanted to share his first impressions of a company he’s been heading since last April as well as of the Canadian auto market.
A true industry globe-trotter, like many executives in the higher echelons Jung has accumulated a slew of postings across the globe. He arrived at BMW in 1996 as regional manager of British brand Rover in Germany when it still belonged to BMW. He was then nominated to various management positions for BMW and MINI in Germany, Mexico, China and, more recently, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
Yet he started his career working for the competition – as a technician for Mercedes-Benz first, then, after making the jump to sales, with the German subsidiaries of Honda and Fiat.
Armed with this solid experience, this forty-seven-year-old, married and father of three children, now finds himself at the head of a BMW Group subsidiary comprised of 40 BMW dealerships and 25 MINI dealerships as well as 19 BMW motorcycle retailers. He is replacing Lindsay Duffield, the first Canadian to hold the position.
Four-pronged strategy to stay at the top
The meeting coincided with a highly anticipated announcement. In June, for the first time in its history in Canada, the BMW brand recorded sales in excess of the magic number of 3,000 units – 3,003 to be more precise! It represented a 2% increase over the same month last year.
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| The new president of BMW Canada since April 2009, Franz Jung hopes to keep the number one spot currently occupied by his brand in the luxury and prestige segments. |
Interviewed at a round table event organized for the automotive press this week in Montreal, the new president of BMW Canada wanted to share his first impressions of a company he’s been heading since last April as well as of the Canadian auto market.
A true industry globe-trotter, like many executives in the higher echelons Jung has accumulated a slew of postings across the globe. He arrived at BMW in 1996 as regional manager of British brand Rover in Germany when it still belonged to BMW. He was then nominated to various management positions for BMW and MINI in Germany, Mexico, China and, more recently, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
Yet he started his career working for the competition – as a technician for Mercedes-Benz first, then, after making the jump to sales, with the German subsidiaries of Honda and Fiat.
Armed with this solid experience, this forty-seven-year-old, married and father of three children, now finds himself at the head of a BMW Group subsidiary comprised of 40 BMW dealerships and 25 MINI dealerships as well as 19 BMW motorcycle retailers. He is replacing Lindsay Duffield, the first Canadian to hold the position.
Four-pronged strategy to stay at the top
The meeting coincided with a highly anticipated announcement. In June, for the first time in its history in Canada, the BMW brand recorded sales in excess of the magic number of 3,000 units – 3,003 to be more precise! It represented a 2% increase over the same month last year.
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| BMW Canada will soon be adding the 750i xDrive to its stable. |