World’s largest BMW Group showroom facility opens in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday. Ian Robertson, Board Member for Sales and Marketing of BMW AG and Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday to attend the opening of the world’s largest BMW Group showroom facility in the Umm Al Nar area of the UAE’s capital. The showroom was formally inaugurated by Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Finance Minister and Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing, at an exclusive event on Tuesday evening attended by over 1,000 guests. The invited guests also included Graeme Grieve, Vice-President for Importer Markets of BMW AG, Adrian van Hooydonk, Director of BMW Group Design, and a large number of VIPs and celebrities from the region, including fashion designer Walid Atallah and Lebanese singers Maya Diab and Wael Kfoury. The impressive and unprecedented facility, built by Abu Dhabi Motors, the exclusive BMW Group importer in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, covers an area of over 35,000 sqm and is the culmination of an Dhs300 million investment in expanding and improving all areas of the facility at the importer’s flagship showroom. Located in Umm Al Nar, between the two bridges and in the same place as the previous Abu Dhabi Motors showroom, the new facility offers 172 parking spaces for customers and 120 work bays for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles. Aimed at delivering a premium experience to its discerning clientele, the state-of-the-art facility can accommodate the display of 80 new and pre-owned cars, 10 motorcycles, and features a private cinema-style theatre, Gloria Jean’s Cafe, F1 Racing Simulator, children’s play area, dedicated waiting rooms for men and women, in addition to the latest in audiovisual technology such as touch-screen tables and televisions screening BMW Group videos on the latest product and technology information. Commenting on the landmark opening, Ian Robertson said: “The Middle East is an important region for the BMW Group, not only because it’s a market where our top-of-the-range models are best sellers, but also because of future growth potential in many of the countries such as the UAE. The investment in this impressive and unique facility that makes it the world’s biggest BMW Group showroom, is testament to the continued opportunities that lie ahead in Abu Dhabi.” Abu Dhabi Motors began its operations in May 1986 with a small showroom and workshop in Umm Al-Nar employing just 24 people, and has grown over the years to become the leading BMW Group importer in the Middle East. It currently employs over 450 staff members in 6 different facilities across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Arno Husselmann, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Motors said: “This new facility will not only allow us to match our sales growth with our physical growth, but also underline our ambition to achieve greater results in the coming years as they have been designed with customer requirements and expectations in mind. We have already seen the benefits of this customer-oriented approach as we came out top of the customer service satisfaction index for the entire BMW Group Middle East.”