The chief executive of BMW Group Korea, the local importer and distributor of BMW AG, said Friday that the German carmaker expects a 15 percent jump in its sales in 2012 from a year earlier on the back of its popular models.

“Last year we sold some 27,000 units of BMW and Mini models. We expect the sales of BMW brand cars to rise 13 percent and Mini sales to soar by 40 percent,” Kim Hyo-joon said in a press conference.

“Adding the sales of 1,000 units of Motorrad bikes, BMW Korea will see a 15 percent increase in sales this year, with around 33,000 units sold.”

BMW was the best-selling imported brand in 2011 in South Korea, outpacing its German competitor Mercedes-Benz, which sold nearly 20,000 cars. Sales of its Mini small car brand shot up 90 percent to 4,200 vehicles.

The president said that BMW Korea will make concerted efforts to retain the No. 1 spot by introducing popular models in the South Korean market and improving its dealership and service networks. (Yonhap News)

He said at least seven BMW’s hit models such as BMW 1 Series Hatchback and BMW 5 Series Touring will arrive in South Korean showrooms later this year.

Kim also said the German carmaker will open a driving training course in South Korea for the first time in Asia.

“We are planning to open a BMW Korea driving center in South Korea later next year,” Kim said. “I gained the final agreement from the German headquarters last week. We shortlisted five candidate regions now around Seoul.” The course will permit ordinary people to drive BMW cars.

Kim said the driving center will provide state-of-the-art tracks with various courses to simulate real-world driving conditions. The tracks are expected to be at least 700 meters to 1 kilometer long, he added.

Detailed plans on the driving center will be announced two or three months later, he noted. (Yonhap News)