BMW to pay $820m as subsidy to Chinese dealers
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG has agreed to pay 5.1 billion yuan ($820 million) to its distributors in China to help cover their losses after retailers stopped ordering cars from the German auto manufacturer, a dealer's group said.
The subsidies are the largest by an automaker to its retailers in China and will be paid by the end of February, said Song Tao, a deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, which represented the BMW distributors in the negotiations. The dealers are still in talks with the Munich-based carmaker over this year's sales targets, he said.
Auto dealers have complained of meeting unrealistic sales projections in order to qualify for year-end bonuses as foreign automakers expand their manufacturing capacity and number of distributors to chase market share.
