Mini GM appointed for Australia and NZ

Matt Schmidt becomes general manager of Mini Australia and New Zealand from July 1.

He succeeds Brett Waudby, who will be retail network head and will oversee sales operations for the BMW brand across Australia. 

Part of BMW Group Australia’s management team for the past 17 years, Schmidt brings extensive experience gained from his current role as national BMW sales manager for operations and planning, which includes overseeing production planning of wholesale and retail stock management.

He previously worked as BMW Special Vehicles sales manager and in various marketing communication roles for both BMW and Mini.

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

“Brett and Matt are two 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,” BMW Group Australia chief executive Wolfgang Buechel says.

Under Waudby’s leadership, Mini has recorded double-digit sales growth across both the Australia and New Zealand markets.

During his tenure, numerous creative marketing and sales campaigns were implemented as well as the introduction of a dynamic product portfolio that includes the first plug-in hybrid Countryman and fully electric Mini Electric Hatch, both of which launched during the past 18 months. 

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

Buechel says BMW and Minis are evolving to include an expanding range of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and fully electric models, integral to their overall electrification strategy.

“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.” 

BMW and Mini report outstanding year-to-date sales growth.

To the end of June 2021, BMW registrations in Australia totalled 11,030 – an 18.9% increase on last year, while Mini registrations reached 1528, a 39% increase on 2020.