Sean Green has overcome a difficult start as managing director of BMW Ireland, writes Michael McAleer

There was no honeymoon period for Sean Green after his appointment as managing director of BMW Ireland last February.

His arrival came amid rumours of a revolt by the group's Irish dealers, who felt their margins were being squeezed.

"There was some feedback from the dealers last year who weren't happy with the way our plans were going. I think where we went wrong was we tried to implement too many things too quickly" he says.

"Over the past three years the dealers have come a very long way in terms of facilities, personnel and processes. We probably applied too much pressure in too short a time and they fell over in some of the controls and stock management issues, so we actually ended up with having too many cars in the country at one time."

The net result was that several dealers recorded losses last year. "Dealers were carrying too much stock and they were really haemorrhaging money. So by putting better controls on stock we should keep them in the black. It's a simple procedure really."

Last year BMW registered 5,622 new cars in Ireland - along with 1,001 Minis - compared to 4,875 for Mercedes and 4,577 for Audi. "We now sell more than Mercedes, and I want to keep them behind us. It's our global objective to be number one in premium sales and though it's not our primary goal here, I want to protect what we have."

However, Green says this year's target has been set at just 5,000. "We're not trying to push volume sales on dealers and we want to ensure in the longer term that dealers maintain their profitability. As it turns out they've already delivered 5,400 cars and we expect them to exceed last year's numbers. That's not because we're pushing them but because the demand is there. The business they're doing now is much healthier."

Sean Green's sharp suit and boardroom demeanour belie his shop-floor beginnings in the motor industry.

He left school in Derby, England, at 16 to take up an apprenticeship as a mechanic with BMW. It was the start of a career path that has seen him rise up the ranks of its British operation and at the company's headquarters in Munich. Now, at the age of 34, he's heading Ireland's best-selling premium car brand.

Neither of his parents shared his interest in cars, and his older brother still doesn't drive. That didn't deter him: "I had the usual car posters on the walls. The only motoring connection growing up was a car-dealing friend of the family who sold Lotuses, TVRs and BMWs. I loved the cars. He also introduced me to motorcycles with an old BMW R80RS, which he took me out on when I was 11, much to my parents' horror."

His first real experience of the motor trade was at the age of 14, during a week's work experience in the garage at BMW's head office outside London. Two years later, in 1988, he completed his GCSEs and took up an apprenticeship as a mechanic.

"After about six years there it was time to decide if I wanted to remain on the technical side of the business, or move on," he recalls.

"A job came up in aftersales marketing, looking after parts and accessories, such as alarms and radios. It was still a technical area but it also introduced you to the marketing section, setting up supplier agreements and dealing with suppliers."

Later, an opportunity arose in the marketing section proper, looking after product management. "I joined a team of four, responsible for defining pricing, product options on offer and volume planning for the British market," says Green. He was responsible for the Z3, 8 series and 7 series. "As Britain is the third-biggest market for BMW in the world, we had strong links to Munich, which is why I built up a fairly good dialogue with them subsequently."

After three years there, during which time he became head of the team, Green moved to corporate sales, dealing with the major leasing firms. "I only did this for eight months when I got a call from the guy I had dealt with in Munich in my previous role: 'I'm leaving in a couple of months time, do you fancy my job?' It was all fairly straightforward, and I couldn't turn it down."

So, in December 2001, Green moved to Germany, with product planning responsibility for European markets outside Germany. This region's annual sales topped 400,000.

After two years in this position, he moved back to the British office, where he took up the job of regional sales manager for London, BMW GB's biggest region at the time.

He arrived at a time when the region's dealer network was in the throes of consolidation, with too many dealers for its relative sales volume.

"Sadly, some of them failed. In hindsight maybe it was inevitable for we just had too many dealers in London. It's a shame, but it strengthened the remaining dealers."

After a year in that position he became a sales development manager for Britain, identifying areas of potential growth for the brand. Part of that role involved a three-month spell in Ireland.

This was shortly after the German manufacturer bought back the Irish agency for the brand from Frank Keane Motors for €7 million and placed it under the control of its British operations at the end of 2003.

Despite teething problems at dealer level, the takeover seems to have been a success for the brand. In 2004, it toppled arch-rival Mercedes as the best-selling premium brand, a position it still holds.

The sales success of BMW in recent years has created its own problems in terms of the brand's premium image.

"It's the dichotomy of having a premium product and selling volume. We have a premium product, there's no doubt about that. The other element is premium service and we need to ensure that's in place. I don't think premium product and service is necessarily at conflict with volume sales," he says.

"We're going towards premium now rather than exclusivity, because the latter is normally associated with niche products - a small numbers of cars. We do have niche cars, the Z4 coupé for example, but the mainstay of our sales here are 3 series and 5 series saloons."

The Irish operation is also set to expand its range of services, with the introduction of BMW insurance for car and motorcycle customers before the end of the year.

As with most consumer markets, the car industry has its eye on a piece of the SSIA pie. So far the predicted spending spree on cars has failed to materialise. New car sales to July are up just 5 per cent on this time last year.

"We're more likely to see the later SSIA savers in our showrooms, those whose aim has been to treat themselves at the end. They can set aside €5,000 or so of their SSIA money and then use their previous monthly savings to enter into a finance deal for something like a 3 series."

Like all involved in the car business, he sees the greatest challenge facing the industry being to persuade the Government to adjust its policy on Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), which adds between 22.5 and 30 per cent on all new car prices after VAT.

"If you look at the statistics, we have one of the lowest number of cars per head of population in Europe. If Vehicle Registration Tax is not going to be changed, then we as manufacturers can't really do much with that."

As for the more immediate challenges, apart from working on profitability in the dealer network and preparing for the arrival of several new models, including a new X5 and Mini, there's also the group's involvement in the Ryder Cup, where it is supplying a fleet of 70 cars to transport the teams and accompanying VIPs.

So, while the taxis may be off the road during the Ryder Cup, Green plans to ensure BMW will keep the show on the road.