NEW BMW AUTO TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM AIMS TO ALLEVIATE INDUSTRY-WIDE SHORTAGE

First BMW Associate Degree Program Offered at MassBay Community College

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - November 7, 2003 ... As part of an ongoing effort to keep
pace with the ever-increasing demand for qualified service technicians, BMW of
North America has introduced a new entry-level training program for automotive
service technicians. The first class of 26 students has just started at
MassBay Community College in Massachusetts.

The new Automotive Technology BMW Associate in Science Degree program was
created by BMW to attract more young people to careers in the automotive
services. With more than 1.4 million BMWs on the road today, and new sales
expected to reach 300,000 annually in the next few years, the need for highly
skilled technicians to diagnose and repair these increasingly sophisticated
automobiles continues to escalate.

"We're delighted to be working with MassBay to bring this exciting career
opportunity to residents of New England," said Gene Donnelly, Vice President
Eastern Region, BMW of North America. "There is a huge demand from area
dealers for qualified service personnel and a huge pool of untapped talent in
the region. This program will help put the two together to help meet that
demand."

In addition to the two-year associate degree program designed for entry-level
students, Mass Bay is also offering a Dealer Technician Training program,
tailored for BMW technicians to upgrade their technical skills.

"Every new car model pushes the technological envelope," said Arthur Motroni,
Vice President, Service and Parts at Foreign Motors West of Natick, Mass. "Our
technicians must receive periodic updates to keep abreast of these advances,
and having a regional training program will allow them to do that with less
time away from their jobs and families.

"The associate degree program for new technicians will also go a long way in
easing the current shortage of skilled service technicians," Motroni added.
Since part of the curriculum involves working in a dealership, the students get
hands-on experience and we get extra help. Plus, upon graduation, we know
they've had BMW-specific training."

The new courses being offered at MassBay augment an existing advanced training
program offered by BMW since 1996. Called STEP for Service Technician
Education Program, the initiative has graduated nearly 1,500 technicians from
its seven regional training facilities throughout the U.S.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 60,000 automotive
service jobs in the U.S. are going unfilled as automakers compete for skilled
labor with other high tech industries. Anticipated 18% growth for the
profession by 2010 translates into the need for an additional 991,000
technicians on the job.

BMW Group 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. BMW Manufacturing Corp. in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's
global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all
Z4 roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. 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 73 MINI dealers. BMW (US)
Holding Corp., the BMW 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:
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

# # #

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.

# # #