Shifting 6 with Andreas Lundgren, Head of BMW Motorrad Australia

Hergs Moto short format interview feature series with six questions asked of key people in and out of the BMW Motorrad motorcycling community.

This the inaugural issue, we’re Shifting 6 with Andreas Lundgren, Head of BMW Motorrad Australia.

1.Andreas, a strong career with BMW and head of BMW Motorrad in Australia for the past 4 and a bit years. Personally what’s been your most rewarding achievement?

I’ve been working for the BMW Group about 16 years.   I’m a keen motorcycle enthusiast so working for BMW Motorrad isn’t a job, it’s a passion that I get to live and enjoy every day.

There have been many achievements over the last four years, but the one thing that stands out for me is how much Australians enjoy BMW motorcycles.  Even though we are living through a pandemic that’s putting strain on every person and business,  BMW Motorrad continues to perform well.  Our large bike sales for the August YTD 2021 have increased over 20% vs the same period last year.  This is a testimony to how attractive our current offering is to our customers and that is very rewarding.

2.The CEO of BMW Motorrad globally, Marcus Schramm said in a recent interview, that the upcoming entry into the cruiser segment with the R 18 is a perfect example of planned strategic growth with a clear goal to become number one. As part of that plan, what exciting things can we expect in the Australian market? 

BMW Motorrad has over the resent years entered more and more customer segments. The Cruiser segment is one of the largest segments not only in the Australian market but in the whole world and up until now we have not had a serious contender in this segment. 

We are currently in the midst of introduction to the new R18 with all our dealer events well attended. Our orders for this motorcycle are already showing there is a strong appetite for this Cruiser in Australia so we feel it will complement our product portfolio perfectly. 

We want to provide customers with an exciting new product in a segment where they previously had to look elsewhere for alternatives. As a consequence of incremental volume into this incremental segment we are also hoping to locally contribute towards our global objective as stated by Dr Schramm, to become number one in the large bike market.

RELATED: BMW Motorrad, a centenary as a manufacturer in 2023.

3.We’ve been to a few events together, so I know you like to ride; What is your favourite BMW model and why?

One of the many advantages of my job as General Manager of BMW Motorrad in Australia is that I don’t have to make a pick of one bike. My favourite bike depends on the type of ride I plan so if I plan a trip to Phillip Island, it’s a RR, for a coffee run it’s a R nineT and so on. However, if I had to settle for one model it would be the R 1250 GS as it can do almost anything.

It performs exceptionally well in all situations / conditions and it is always my favourite choice for the BMW GS Safari.  This is our biggest event that brings together over 200 hundred GS riders of all abilities to ride a planned route over a one week period.    So if you haven’t ridden a GS motorcycle,  I encourage listeners [readers] to contact the closest dealership to arrange for a test ride.

4.BMW Motorrad has a large and loyal, active user-base worldwide and particularly in Australia. From your point of view, what is it that gives the brand its strength and such loyal Motorrad community involvement?

One word – product. BMW Motorrad is a premium quality product where the sum of all parts delivers an extraordinary riding experience. As mentioned earlier, we are catering for more and more customer preferences as we enter more and more customer segments. This in a big way helps to grow the local and global BMW riding community.

5.If there was one thing you could say about BMW Motorrad to someone who has never experienced the brand or bikes, what would it be?

Ride it! In order to fully appreciate the ultimate riding machine it has to be experienced for yourself. 

6.Last but not least, finish this sentence; If I could…

---

Some images sourced courtesy of BMW Group.