OREANDA-NEWS. Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”) has acquired 80% of the issued shares of Top Car Ve?culos S.A. (“Top Car”), an authorized dealership of BMW and MINI brand vehicles and BMW brand motorcycles in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Since its establishment in 1998, Top Car has built a solid customer base as a prominent dealer in Brazil’s Santa Catarina State. Top Car operates a total of five dealerships for BMW and MINI brand vehicles and BMW motorcycles in cities such as Blumenau and Florian?polis, with a large concentration of high-income residents.

While in recent years, Brazil’s decelerating economy has impacted the entire auto market, reducing the number of new automobile units sold, the market for premium brand vehicles exhibits an upward trend and is a promising market expected to demonstrate significant growth over the mid-to long-term. Santa Catarina State is a strategically important area as the location of BMW’s assembly plant, and an area in which Top Car has been performing steadily.

In the United States, Sojitz has a three-store setup of authorized BMW and MINI brand dealerships in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, which has allowed Sojitz to build a wealth of business acumen and a strong track record of sales in the area. Sojitz will construct a stable earnings foundation over the mid-to long-term by strengthening the dealership business in the U.S., in addition to entering Brazil’s expanding premium brand auto dealership market to capture future growth opportunities.