BMW Group SA CEO Peter van Binsbergen hopes to continue the company’s upward trajectory in 2026.
“In 2025 we grew by 12% year-on-year; we came out very clearly the leader in the premium segment at 46%, and if you add up the numbers there, you see that we comfortably outsold our two closest competitors combined,” he said at a recent media briefing. The CEO claimed that the MINI brand in isolation grew by 4%.
He attributes part of BMW’s success to its strong product offering last year, with the locally built X3 described as the cornerstone of the portfolio. It is the best-selling product in the range locally.
“The X3 is the sweet spot in the South African product offering, offering petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and six-cylinder performance derivatives — giving customers a full range of choices.”
Van Binsbergen noted that the local BMW heritage and brand affinity among enthusiasts cannot be overlooked as drivers of success.
“In our 52-plus years [of] having built cars in this country, some exclusively for the market, there is strong resonance with South Africans. Add to that some of the classic advertising we [did] for South Africa, and you see a certain DNA of BMW that is very South African — we are very much at home here.”
The brand’s established retail network was also cited as a key factor for its sales supremacy in the premium arena.
“The quality of our dealers is important, and how they serve our customers and make our brand promise come alive at the retail interface. I can assure you that in 95% of the cases, if a dealer orders a part, it’s in stock locally and goes to the dealer on that day, so the car can be back on the road as soon as possible.
“Combine that with a standard motor plan on all BMWs, with our condition-based servicing, which predicts when you need a service, as well as ‘proactive ’care’ — which analyses the vehicle and warns the customer if something’s about to go wrong.”
“Of course, we’re not perfect, and for the times we don’t get it right, we offer BMW on Call as standard, along with their motor plan, so if something happens by the side of the road, BMW is there to support the customer and to deliver on that promise.”
The big news from a BMW new product perspective in 2026 is the arrival of the second-generation iX3, part of the firm’s next-generation Neue Klasse range, ushering in a fresh design language, a new interior concept and interface, as well as the brand’s latest electric powertrain technology.
On the MINI side, expect the livelier John Cooper Works versions of the Aceman, as well as the traditional three-door Cooper.
According to Van Binsbergen, BMW SA employs 95,000 workers in the country, with an ongoing focus on job creation.
“We are doing our job in creating employment. When it comes to skills development, we have a very broad view, believing in what we call ‘cradle to ’career’ — literally so, because we start with the early learning centre at our plant, where we look after the first educational steps [of] our plant associates, right on plant premises.”
Van Binsbergen spoke of the brand’s investment in vocational institutes, employee and leadership development.
“There is a shortage of technical skills in South Africa, so we need to grow people and careers for our business.”
Speaking from the viewpoint of his role as the president of Naamsa, the local automotive business council, Van Binsbergen said a “hammer” approach towards imposing duties on Chinese imports would shock the market and may result in unintended consequences.
The prospect was discussed at a recent parliamentary portfolio committee of trade, industry and competition around the South African Automotive Masterplan 2035.
He called instead for a fine-tuning of the levers in the automotive production development programme.
“The main objective of that is to ensure real production in South Africa, as in the case of the BMW X3 at the Rosslyn plant — so welding the body together, painting it and then assembling the vehicle, not screwdriver assembly, as semi-knocked down (SKD) plants are doing,” he said.
“With job creation comes economic growth and a virtuous circle, which is why we asked [the committee] to close the SKD loophole. SKD manufacturers come in close to duty-free, without creating investments and hardly creating jobs.”
“We need to have 10 brands in South Africa producing or even more, because what they do is they bring their suppliers onto the shore; if they produce complete-knocked-down (CKD) and not SKD—and their suppliers have a leverage effect, then job creation really begins to flourish.”
The CEO reiterated that “value proposition” should also be considered by buyers, urging them to look beyond low sticker prices.
“Consider what the car will be worth at the end, how you are looked after during the ownership period, parts availability and so on.”
Asked if BMW felt threatened by Chinese imports, Van Binsbergen said the brand was not resting on its laurels.
“We are studying these brands in great detail to analyse what makes them strong or not, focusing more on our strengths rather than others’ weaknesses, improving our offerings — but it would be arrogant to say we are immune.”
Van Binsbergen said that based on feedback from some of the brand’s dealers, there were numerous customers who decided to “put a foot in the water” and soon opted to return to the BMW marque.
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