German luxury carmaker BMW, the best-selling foreign car brand in Korea for the past 14 years, is seeking a bigger footprint in Korea by expanding its presence to social contribution and research and development activities.

“Elevating sales figures is not enough to maintain No. 1 status. We are making continued efforts to add value to owning a BMW in Korea,” said BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon.

In July 2011, BMW Korea launched the BMW Korea Future Fund, the first charitable foundation set up by a foreign carmaker, with aims to nurture young Korean talent.

One of the key programs is the Junior Campus, an education program for children that is also operated at BMW Welt, a brand museum near the Munich headquarters.

The Korean program, in particular, centers on a renovated 11.5-ton truck that visits elementary schools, especially those in secluded areas, to offer creative science classes based on automotive engineering.

The foundation also carries out diverse activities supporting young talent. From this year, BMW Korea officials and salespeople have been encouraged to play a mentoring role for students from underprivileged families. 

BMW Korea is also boosting the nation’s donation culture by running a CSR fund. In 2013, the total amount of donated money reached some 3.2 billion won ($3.1 million).

The fund originally started by collecting donations from BMW and Mini customers on their new car purchases. Now, all BMW operations, including BMW Financial Services Korea and dealers, are joining the initiative.

In May, BMW Korea, along with its eight dealerships, donated an additional 1 billion won to help survivors and families of the victims of the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16.

The recent opening of the BMW Driving Center on Yeongjongdo Island was another milestone for BMW Korea.

The BMW complex, which opened in August, consists of a 2.6-kilometer racetrack, a BMW car gallery, a restaurant and the Junior Campus.

It is BMW’s first driving center in Asia and third globally following ones in Germany and the U.S.

It was a strategic decision considering the recent strong growth in Korean sales as well as the soaring number of travelers from China and Japan. But the carmaker says it aims, among other things, to contribute to creating a new driving culture here.

BMW also plans to pour its R&D resources into Korea by locating a new satellite R&D center here ― the fifth after ones in the U.S., China, Japan and Brazil.

By 2015, some 20 researchers, with some of them coming from the German headquarters, are expected to join the center. They will focus on developing features such as a new navigation system for Korean motorists. 

As part of the efforts, the company will expand its partnership with local companies as well as engineering schools. Currently, some 20 direct suppliers are working with the carmaker, with their cumulative orders worth over 3 trillion won.

In August, BMW inked a new deal with Korea’s Samsung SDI, the sole battery supplier for the carmaker’s i3 and i8 electric models, to expand orders and strengthen partnership in related R&D activities.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)