Regional dealership blazes new ground

21 February 2023

It’s unlikely that executives at BMW headquarters in Munich pictured one of its revolutionary new dealerships would be located in regional Australia, but for VACC member Shepparton BMW, that’s exactly what happened.

After 30 years in the Goulburn Valley, it came time to move. Located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, in Kialla, on the drive into Shepparton from Melbourne, the business’ dealer principle and director Aaron Brain decided to expand and relocate across the road into a brand new dealership that became the third worldwide – and the first in Australia – to incorporate BMW’s new corporate identity.

Thirty-eight-year-old Brain originally came from the construction industry but joined the Jeff Tracy-owned Shepparton BMW in 2012 rising to become dealer principle.

Tracy – who established BMW’s presence in the Goulburn Valley in 1992 – acted as a mentor, and Brain enjoyed the friendly atmosphere.

“It was family-owned and the environment was very supportive,” Brain said.

A few years into his tenure, Tracy mentioned to Brain he wanted to transition out of the business.

“We had some talks and in 2013 I took over the company,” Brain said.

Tracy remained on hand to mentor Brain, something the younger member of the duo appreciated.

“Jeff ran a great business. He was very focussed on the local community and this is something I have tried to continue,” Brain said.

Local is a relative term, for Shepparton BMW’s PMA is enormous.

“It stretches from Deniliquin in southern new South Wales to Echuca in the east and Wangaratta in the west.”

The dealership also has customers in Melbourne.

“Some of our customers like us to pick up their car, drive it up the highway to give it a good run, service it, and then return it to them. It works for us. It works for them.”

The new state-of-the-art premises at 7969 Goulburn Valley Highway is super-impressive and it incorporates the BMW and MINI brands.

The reception area looks like a five-star hotel, with polished concrete, LED lighting and interactive displays for vehicles and merchandise. Customers can get a great-tasting coffee there, as well.

The workshop facilities at the rear boasts 1,100 square metres of climate-controlled floor space with 11 bays which – with 12 staff working across a range of vehicles – can handle up to 40 vehicles at a time.

To save water and time, a robotic car wash – that can handle up to 50 cars a day – has customer vehicles spic and span in no time. A dedicated detailing area sits nearby.

To align with BMW’s corporate vision, Brain’s dealership has a self-sustainable model, generating all its water and electricity requirements.

The new facilities include 45,000-litre water tanks and a 100-kilowatt solar system to power the building and car-charging stations.

Having these state-of-the-art facilities would be meaningless if Brain’s people failed to scrub-up, too.

“We offer a lot of training for everyone from the technicians to our sales team. BMW and MINI cars are incredibly complicated and – with 10,000 volts running through some electric models – can be dangerous as well. Our people need to know what they’re doing,” Brain said.

And with two brands, 13 series of vehicles and more than 60 models, the sales team needs to keep on top of a lot of information.

Everyone does a minimum of five days of training offsite, plus there is a lot of online training, too,” Brain said.

One thing the expansion has achieved is to create the space for a new brand offering. The addition of a ‘MINI Garage’ to the dealership is new to the region, with a lot of possibilities.

“MINI is very exciting for us. We think it will do well here,” Brain said.

BMW Shepparton has a full trophy cabinet, having won BMW Group’s Rural Dealer of the Year award five years in a row. In 2018, the dealership won the ultimate award, clinching the BMW National Dealer of the Year.

But, for Brain, the fundamentals remain the same and, at its core, is the local community.

“We’re heavily involved with local people and groups, and support local events and charities as much as possible,” Brain said.

“It’s all about the locals.”