BMW’s Japan CEO Reveals The Country’s True Non-Tariff Barriers

“This is BMW Group’s sixth-largest market, by volume.”

I consider where we are, and my jaw drops. We are in Tokyo, Japan, and we are talking to Peter Kronschnabl, President of BMW Group Japan. Would we be talking to President Trump, or to Ford, we would be told that Japan is closed to foreign cars. Kronschnabl finds the assertion literally laughable: I prod him where Japan ranks at BMW in terms of profits, and Kronschnabl just smiles.

“The Japanese customer wants a well-equipped car. No car is sold at list here.” At BMW, the global ranking goes China, U.S.A., Germany, UK, Italy, Japan, by volume. By profit, take out one country, which one is a company secret. This leads to a nice long chat, and in its course, I learn where the true barriers to entry are buried.

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