June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, aims to help counter a sales slump by targeting its own workers who drive models manufactured by competitors.

The company stuck about 7,000 cards on vehicles in its German factories’ employee parking lots to encourage workers to buy BMW, Alexander Bilgeri, a spokesman for the Munich-based manufacturer, said today by telephone. The effort is the first of its kind in a three-decade marketing program to employees.

“What’s wrong here? You like working with us. You appreciate your job and income. But you drive a vehicle from a competitor,” read the cards signed by Ian Robertson, the company’s sales chief; Harald Krueger, BMW’s head of personnel, and Manfred Schoch, its top union representative.

Germany’s government-rebate program to encourage trade-ins of cars older than nine years hasn’t helped BMW as buyers taking advantage of the incentive have chosen cheaper models made by competitors. Worldwide deliveries of the manufacturer’s BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce models fell 21 percent in the first five months of 2009 to 488,000 vehicles, and its European sales drop of 14 percent in May outpaced the 4.9 percent market decline.

“We wanted to raise awareness that our employees are part of the product and could actually drive BMW,” said Bilgeri. “It’s a totally normal marketing program.”

Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported earlier today that BMW was undertaking the campaign targeting drivers of competing cars, saying that about 10 percent of workers had received the advertisements.

Hans Haumer, deputy head of BMW’s works council in Munich, said the initiative, which took place over the course of three weeks, is akin to an employee survey. None of BMW’s more than 73,000 workers in Germany need to fear for their job because they drive a rival model, he added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Reiter in Berlin at creiter2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 17, 2009 10:36 EDT