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MINI Australia and New Zealand has appointed Matt Schmidt as its new general manager, succeeding Brett Waudby who becomes the head of retail network for BMW in Australia.

Mr Schmidt, who has been part of BMW Group Australia’s management team for the past 17 years, was previously national BMW sales manager for operations and planning.

He has previously been sales manager of BMW Special Vehicles and worked in marketing communications roles for BMW and Mini.

In his new role, he will lead the Mini brand through the development of long-term sales and marketing strategies while working closely with dealerships across both the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Matt Schmidt

BMW Group Australia CEO Wolfgang Buechel said Mr Schmidt and Mr Waudby were experienced leaders with considerable knowledge of the BMW Group brands.

“They have brought important change and growth to both BMW and Mini and their expertise will be of great benefit to their new positions and their new teams,” he said.

“Under Mr Waudby’s leadership, Mini has recorded double-digit sales growth across Australia and NZ.”

Mr Waudby had implemented numerous creative marketing and sales campaigns and introduced a dynamic product portfolio that includes the first plug-in hybrid Countryman and pure-electric Mini Electric Hatch, both of which launched over the past 18 months.

Brett Waudby

Both markets also have achieved the highest sales share for John Cooper Works (JCW), Mini’s high-performance product range.

Mr Buechel said it was “an incredibly exciting time for both BMW and Mini”.

“Both brands are evolving to include an expanding range of plug-in hybrid and fully-electric models, which are integral to our overall electrification strategy,” he said.

“In addition, the deployment of progressive digital solutions that provide customers with a convenient and quick way to view and purchase our products will also remain a key focus area of our business.”

By Neil Dowling

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