From One Outstanding Service to Another: BMW Recruits Former Military Personnel For Automotive Service Jobs

WOODCLIFF LAKE, NEW JERSEY, April 7, 2003... It's not only Uncle Sam that
needs a few good men - or women; the automotive industry has some jobs to fill
as well. In a move designed to provide its dealers with a qualified pool of
employees for the aftersales departments, including service and body repair
technicians, BMW has joined forces with the Lucas Group, a recruiting firm that
specializes in placing military personnel in civilian jobs.

The acute shortage of skilled automotive service technicians is expected to
continue challenging the industry for at least the next decade as auto
dealerships compete with other high-tech fields for computer-savvy staff. BMW
LLC forecasts that its 340 dealerships will employ up to 7,000 service
technicians through 2007 - an increase of 75 percent over the next five years.
Industry-wide, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 35,000 new
automotive service jobs annually through 2010. Experienced paint and body
technicians are also in high demand, with approximately 20,000 jobs currently
going unfilled.

"BMW has developed several innovative training programs to meet these demands,"
said Lou Provato, Manager of Aftersales Development and Quality Management.
"By partnering with the Lucas Group, we gain access to a network of
professionals equipped with the skills and discipline necessary to reach new
levels of service excellence. They can be a real asset for dealers and
customers."

The Lucas Group specializes in placing transitioning military personnel into
civilian careers. On a contract basis, the military placement team will
provide BMW dealers with direct access to candidates whose skills are likely to
transfer to the service technician field, as well as support through the
recruiting and hiring process. Their pool of candidates include jet engine
mechanics experienced in mechanical principals, pneumatics and hydraulics, tank
turret mechanics adept with both mechanical and electrical schematics and
electronic technicians skilled at troubleshooting and diagnostics at the
component level.

BMW IN AMERICA

BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since
then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales
and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands and Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a
technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the
country, including BMW Manufacturing Corp. in South Carolina. The BMW Group
sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW car,
327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle retailers and 70 MINI car
dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the Group's sales headquarters for North,
Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet
at http://www.bmwusa.com http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com and
http://www.miniusa.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available
to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address -
www.press.bmwgroup.com.

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