BMW (BMW China and BMW Brilliance), with three consecutive donations of $5 million, $25 million, and $5 million, is both the first and the largest luxury automaker to make a donation to the fight against the new coronavirus.
Of course, that's not the only reason to praise BMW. In the 20 days since the beginning of the outbreak on Feb. 26, in addition to the high donations to the fight against the epidemic, BMW has also given a package of online and offline "anti-epidemic" programs, including health and safety measures for employees, dealership staff and customers, as well as financial support for dealership partners currently experiencing cash-flow pressures. The company is also working on a series of programs to support its customers and distributors in their efforts to improve their cash flow.
A series of practical actions proved that the BMW Group's long-emphasized strategy of "In China, For China" is not just a slogan, but also a true portrayal of a company with a strong sense of social responsibility to overcome the difficulties with China in the face of the epidemic.
"If there is another country that has the ability to overcome such an unprecedented challenge, it must be China. China is fighting as a nation against the epidemic, and this is to protect each and every one of us,"? Gao Le, president and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, said emotionally at a video conference for all BMW Group China employees, "We are confident that China will overcome the epidemic, beat the odds and will emerge stronger."
War "epidemic" three consecutive donations, BMW tribute to health care workers
Some people say that during World War II, the most valuable strategic materials are penicillin, guns and ammunition. Today, in front of this new coronavirus war "epidemic" without smoke, medical masks and protective clothing are strategic materials.
BMW also spent every penny on the knife edge, the first 5 million yuan donation is mainly used to subsidize the worst-hit areas of Hubei Province, especially Wuhan local hospitals in urgent need of masks, protective clothing, protective masks and other materials and related relief work.
The second 25 million donations are mainly used for purchasing medical equipment such as monitors and non-invasive ventilators that are urgently needed by hospitals in Wuhan and other cities and states in Hubei Province. In addition, in the case of the recent sharp rise in the amount of psychological counseling on the national network, BMW funded the opening of the first national psychological counseling hotline, specializing in serving the courageous health care workers, patients and volunteers fighting on the front line of the national anti-epidemic campaign, to alleviate people's psychological pressure, which is also regarded as a "warm hearted move" by many members of the media industry.
The third donation of 5 million yuan, BMW "return the favor" for "hometown" Shenyang (BMW Brilliance production base) epidemic prevention and treatment work, the funds are mainly donated to the Shenyang Center, which is positioned as the centralized treatment center of the new Crown Pneumonia in Liaoning Province, and the Sixth People's Hospital in Shenyang, which is located in the center of the new Crown Pneumonia in Liaoning Province. The funds were mainly donated to the Shenyang Sixth People's Hospital, which is positioned as the centralized treatment center for Croup in Liaoning Province.
And for the healthcare workers on the frontline of the epidemic, Gao Le also expressed the respect of BMW people: "All the employees of BMW enterprises in China, dealers and partners nationwide extend their highest respect to the healthcare workers who risk their lives every day to protect us and fight hard on the frontline of the fight against the epidemic. We would like to pay our highest respect to the healthcare workers who risked their lives to protect us and fought hard on the front line of the epidemic! They are doing extraordinary things, and they are the heroes who are fighting against the epidemic against all odds."
Financial war "epidemic", to protect the safety of employees, dealers operating stability
As the current domestic market sales of the largest luxury car companies, BMW has more than 20,000 employees in China, for such a large-scale enterprises, many seemingly insignificant business adjustments will also make it bear the unpredictable costs. But in BMW's view, as a corporate citizen, allowing employees to telecommute from home and delaying the resumption of work at factories is the most effective support in the fight against the epidemic.
Before the inflection point of the epidemic had arrived, BMW announced on Feb. 7 that it would extend the time for employees to work online from home, putting their safety and health first. At the same time, it delayed the scheduled Feb. 10 startup of the BMW Brilliance plant, whose multi-day shutdown is expected to expose it to a billion-dollar loss.
Not only that, for the most important strategic partners - dealers, BMW management answered questions online to nearly 600 dealers through online meetings. And considering the short-term stagnation of sales work and interruption of cash flow of dealers, BMW gave timely and effective business support policies, including the abolition of the February sales target assessment, the early release of some of the quarterly bonuses, and measures to alleviate the cash pressure on dealers through the BMW financial-related policies but not limited to this.
Safety first, taking care of the needs of new and old car owners during the epidemic
In addition, taking into account the actual needs of new and old car owners, BMW also joined hands with its dealers to make a series of safety and security measures.
Ten types of measures have been formulated for the management of environmental hygiene and disinfection in showrooms, covering all aspects from ventilation and air exchange in showrooms to cleaning and disinfection of restrooms and garbage disposal, so as to provide a safe and secure experience environment for every customer. At the same time, BMW encourages dealers and salespeople to open webcasts, so that new car owners who want to see the car can learn the information they want without leaving home.
In terms of service for older owners, in order to avoid, as far as possible, situations in which customers may experience infections due to repair and maintenance services, BMW announced the extension of the validity period of a number of services: for the "BMW/MINI?Extended Warranty Service" that expires on January 1 - February 29, 2020, the "BMW/MINI?Long Delight Maintenance Rebate Program Oil Pack", and "BMW/MINI?Long Delight Maintenance Package", the validity period is extended to March 31, 2020 for all of them.
Meanwhile, for customers who actually need maintenance and warranty services, BMW will provide free door-to-door pickup and delivery services; customers with expired insurance can contact authorized BMW dealers to renew their insurance online and generate an electronic policy; and customers who have questions about the financial loan information can also use WeChat to make online inquiries and processing, and so on.
Before the end of the new coronavirus outbreak, BMW's blocking war is only ongoing, there is no end, a list of measures to fight the epidemic, safe production will be strictly enforced. "Of course, in the war 'epidemic' at the same time, we also have to prepare for the full recovery of business, the epidemic will not change our good expectations of the Chinese market," said Gaole in the end, "BMW will pay close attention to China's social developments in the fight against the epidemic and will continue to make contributions to Chinese society."
This article comes from the authors of Automotive House Car Family, and does not represent the viewpoint position of Automotive House.