BMW is entering a highly significant few months, with the debut of arguably its most important new models for many years. The new Neue Klasse EV line-up is set to deliver a major step forward in capabilities, with the first example, the new iX3 SUV, boasting a 500-mile range between charges. It’s an exciting prospect for Andrew Jago, who was appointed as BMW Group UK general manager for corporate sales in July this year, and who told us that with orders for the iX3 now open, it was already attracting high demand.
He said: “It really sets the benchmark for EV range and in-car technology, and being the first to market with a range of 500 miles demonstrates the commitment of BMW Group to remain at the forefront of the industry, and really strengthens our appeal and relevance to corporate customers.
“Obviously, we’re launching that product in the heart of the market – we know that there is huge demand in the SUV sector. We have a very, very strong lineup of nine models between BMW and Mini for SUV alone. But I think hitting the heart of the market with that product is going to be really key for us, and then that will be hotly followed by the new i3, which again, will really establish us in the heart of the corporate sector with the compact sedan and the SUV.”
The launches come as part of a wide-ranging and rapid rollout of 40 new and updated models in just 24 months, rolling out the Neue Klasse design direction and technology across the range.
Jago said: “I think we will absolutely be able to strengthen our position in the market as a result of those significant product enhancements, and the huge investment that’s going in from our parent company into bringing those cars to market.”
Jago will be a name familiar to many in fleet from his 13-year spell with JLR, including six years as general manager for fleet and business.
Explaining the appeal of his new employer, he said: “From my perspective, the BMW brand itself offers an unrivalled choice of premium and luxury passenger cars, and with a clear focus on driving pleasure and exceptional product reliability, and then the Mini range has also been completely updated, offering corporate customers a highly desirable and fun to drive zero-emission proposition across the full model range.
“Personally, I’ve long admired BMW Group and firmly believe that its commitment to remaining open to all propulsion technologies is the right approach, so that, for me, was a big attraction of coming to the business, and the opportunity to join the brand at such a pivotal time for the industry is really compelling.”
Jago returned to the theme of a wide range of propulsion options when asked about the continued relevance of plug-in hybrids for fleet.
He said: “In terms of propulsion, we are agnostic. We continue to invest in all powertrains because different parts of the world have different requirements, and also in these uncertain times, if legislation changes, we haven’t wedded ourselves to or committed ourselves to a single technology.
“We know from some of our competitors, where they have strategically aligned to a single technology, they subsequently had to make significant reversals of strategy to invest back into propulsion technologies that they had probably assumed would not be so relevant as perhaps they are.
“In an uncertain market, we have the ability to continue to offer plug-in hybrid powertrains, as an example, if that’s what the market wants, and certainly there are fleets that still require that proposition.
“And it’s still quite a surprisingly high proportion of salary sacrifice demand as well. About 20% of salary sacrifice sales are still plug-in hybrid, so it’s still quite relevant when you consider the size of the corporate market.”
Jago has taken over a fleet team steeped in success – not least at the Business Car Awards.
He said: “We’re obviously delighted to be Business Car Fleet Manufacturer of the Year for five consecutive years now. BMW is number two in the marketplace today in volume terms, and also in corporate sales as well. So we’re clearly doing something right to have established that position so consistently over a number of years.
“My role really is to make sure that we evolve our strategy around customer demands and market needs, and we do that in the right way. We don’t need to throw all the apples up in the air and change everything. And I think it’s really important that we continue to build and evolve our position.
“We need to play to our strengths – we have an enviable position of highly desirable products for both BMW and Mini brands, backed up by exceptional product reliability and a very competitive position in the marketplace.”
For Jago, an important aspect of BMW’s fleet offering is its dealer network.
He said: “We’ve got a very established retail network of 132 BMW and 124 Mini retailers, and that gives our customers confidence that we’re here to stay. We have provenance in the market that we can build on, and expertise within the team, [including] centrally at national level across all the key stakeholder channels – the leasing company relationships, as the funders of 95% of the business we do, the big national key accounts and public sector organisations. [Then] SME, which is obviously something that we really expect our retailers to develop ,and the large rental and mobility fleet providers as well.
“So, we have a really well established and experienced team of experts that can really add value to advising customers as the world is changing and the landscape changing so rapidly.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Jago is aiming to build on a “very solid” 2025 for both BMW and Mini in corporate sales.
He said: “We expect the market dynamics to continue to be highly competitive, and obviously, we need to continue to make sure we monitor that. But for us our focus will be very much on delivering the best possible customer experience in the corporate marketplace, so making sure that we are easy to do business with, and that we continue to deliver an exceptional in-life experience as well.”
Jago said that this was exemplified by new innovations such as the Proactive Care programme.
He said: “Proactive Care is something that’s available on all new BMW Group models now where the car is monitoring vehicle health, whether that’s through routine maintenance, or unscheduled maintenance. It could be things like tyre wear, it could be minor accident damage that doesn’t look like it’s very serious, but actually has an impact on vehicle function, and that will allow retailers to spot that, proactively contact the customer and say, ‘Please come in, we need to check or replace’.
“The objective of that is about keeping vehicle downtime to a minimum. So, rather than waiting for an event where you could potentially have a roadside situation if tyre wear is excessive and the tyre deflates rapidly, we can proactively add value to the relationship by saying to the customer ‘please come in’, and we know that not everybody checks their cars as routinely as perhaps they might.
“We have a very well-established network of corporate certified retailers, so our retailers meet a consistent standard. which means you get a level of consistency across the network as a corporate customer. So that, for us, is a really important part of our proposition, and our national sales and aftersales teams work hand in glove with our retailers to make sure through both the acquisition process and the in-life customer journey that we are really offering industry-leading levels of service.
“Ultimately, the proof point of that is retaining those customers when they come to the end of their contract, and of course, we want to maximise the number of those customers who have had the best brand experience and have no reason to look elsewhere.”
