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.