Sime Darby Motors Enters Indonesia, Representing BMW & MINI Brands

Sime Darby Motors (SDM) has entered the Indonesian automotive market space via PT Performance Motors Indonesia – a joint-venture project between Sime Singapore Ltd, one of SDM’s subsidiaries, and Galeon Group. 

More importantly, this entrant marks the firm’s first-ever foray into the Indonesian market, in line with its plan to further grow their operations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Under PT Performance Motors Indonesia, SDM will represent two BMW Group Indonesia’s core brands, BMW and MINI. A total of two BMW and MINI dealerships, each at Jakarta and Medan, will be opened under the firm’s stewardship. 

These two dealerships will serve as a platform for the firm to further expand its presence into other provinces in Java and Sumatra, as BMW Group Indonesia plans to expand its dealership network throughout the republic.

Commenting on this momentous feat, Sime Darby Berhad (SDB) CEO Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson said, “This new joint venture is part of Sime Darby Berhad’s strategy to grow our Motors operations in Asia Pacific. Indonesia, being a country with one of the largest automotive markets in the region, and with a large and fast-growing middle and upper middle class – is a very important market for us.

“We appreciate BMW Group’s trust in Sime Darby Motors, and we look forward to continue growing with BMW Group Indonesia as a strategic partner, and to work closely to grow the BMW and MINI brands in Indonesia,” the CEO added.

BMW Group Indonesia president director Ramesh Divyanathan commented, "We welcome the entry of Sime Darby Motors into BMW Group Indonesia's dealer network and its partnership with Galeon Group. This is a clear sign of confidence in BMW Group Indonesia's presence here and the strong sales performance of BMW and MINI brands in this market, both of which set new records in 2022. 

“BMW Group Indonesia is a wholly owned Munich-based BMW AG subsidiary. Having been established more than 22 years ago, this subsidiary reflects the BMW Group's confidence in the long-term future of Indonesia, demonstrating that we are here to stay,” the BMW boss said.

Together with SDM and Sime Singapore Ltd, Galeon Group is also involved in this venture, which allows the firm to accelerate its growth via brand expansion. This expansion will include the MINI brand, with the firm plans to further expand its territory outside of current locations.

“With Sime Darby’s strong automotive and BMW experience, solid back-end systems, and strong financial capacity to support growth, we are confident that this partnership would bring success,” said Leonel Gozali, principal of Galeon Group.