You could call it a life-long love affair. As a child, Roland Krueger grew up with a general fascination with all things BMW. That feeling did not change when he reached adulthood, according to the managing director of BMW Asia. In fact, it grew even stronger.

Mr Krueger recalls that his first direct experience with a BMW product took place when he was about 10 years old. A family friend who worked at the German car manufacturer gave him a rare poster of a BMW touring motorcycle.

It immediately became a source of deep pride for young Roland, who left it on his bedroom wall for a very long time.

His next experience with the brand took place some years later when he served an internship with the Munich-based car maker.

But after finishing his studies in industrial and transportation design, he went off to work at a couple of other car makers in the United States instead.

It was only after getting his MBA in general management from Insead that the Munich native returned home and joined the BMW Group as product manager.

'When I started working for BMW, my feelings for it did not change; they intensified,' he says.

The lanky German describes his passion for BMW as being based on his admiration for the blue-and-white roundel's unwavering focus.

'There are not many brands in the world, not only automotive ones, that have kept so true to the focus and purpose of its product,' he declares in virtually accentless English.

And the importance of staying focused is something he should be intimately familiar with. In late 2005, the super slim and ultra-fit 41-year-old skied more than 800km to the South Pole.

'Since the 1960s, BMW has been clear about the products being developed. It invented the segment of the sports sedan and has stayed true to it. If you like cars, BMW is an emotional and fascinating brand, more so than others, because it has been consistent over the years and it is authentic.'

Much of that authenticity pivots around the BMW experience of performance, driveability, design and status.

'BMW has become the world's top luxury brand because it started with a very good product. This is the most important thing, for an authentic BMW product with the right product substance. Then you have to use that product to make inroads into the market. That is the biggest single contributor to BMW's success.'

Today, the BMW Group - comprising the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands - is the world's biggest luxury car maker, totting up sales of 1.37 million cars in 2006.

Mr Krueger says a brand is all about trust, and trust develops over time through product substance. 'Top brands have one thing in common - the consistency of approach. There are certain things they don't do.'

But if there are certain things that they want to do, they make sure that all the right values are built in. One example he points to is the company's new X5 model.

'It has absolute brand fit although it is a category of car that BMW wouldn't have made 25 years ago.'

He says it has taken the company some time to make it right, so instead of an SUV - sports utility vehicle - BMW has created an SAV - sports activity vehicle - with all the typical BMW qualities of performance and sportiness, plus others like versatility and functionality. 'So we have stayed true to the brand but we are still open enough to incorporate things relevant to the customer.'

This openness is vital, for example, when trying to understand cultural differences, says the 'ambassador for BMW in Asia'.

'The most important thing to take care of is to find the balance between what BMW is about, and the local uniqueness.'

One example is how Asian customers of the 7 Series limousine have different expectations of the car. Status is important in this region, but in the European context the tendency is to understate. So a different approach has to be taken in the sales context, and different emotions triggered by showing the car in a different environment.

In addition, the development of the 7 Series also considered the needs of customers in this part of the world because of the different usage. Thus a long wheelbase version of the car was offered here, with an optional standard wheelbase.

Nevertheless, the model is still a true BMW in terms of performance and driveability, plus the comfort of a longer wheelbase.

'The car communicates itself. We do what is necessary but we don't put on a show. We don't oversell and we don't posture. It's an authentic product,' he says.