Schmidt wants to import Rolls-Royce

Automobile Bavaria, the main BMW dealer, controlled by
businessman Michael Schmidt, with over 100 million euros in
turnover in 2009, according to ZF estimates, is very close to
signing an import contract with Rolls-Royce, one of the most
expensive car brands in the world, after having already opened its
first official servicing centre of the British brand in Romania.
“This could be the first step towards a Rolls-Royce dealership. But
we are talking about a very small market, and those who can afford
such a car in Romania are few,” said Wenzel Weber, general manager
of Automobile Bavaria. The same strategy of first opening a
servicing centre and then a showroom has been pursued by Forza
Rossa, Ferrari importer, and by Porsche Romania Group, for Bentley
and Lamborghini. 13 new Rolls-Royce cars have been imported on the
Romanian market over the last three years, costing up to 640,000
euros, plus another 20 second-hand ones, whose owners are targeted
as prospective clients by the Automobile-Bavaria servicing centre.
Similarly to the Ferrari dealer, the Rolls-Royce servicing centre
currently has clients not only from Romania, but also from
neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria, according to the company
official.