The BMW Group is planning a radical change in the way new vehicles are sold on the European continent. The automaker will introduce a direct sales model in the coming years, which will make the process of buying a new BMW or a new Mini more transparent and easier for customers. That’s not to say there won’t be dealers involved, however – and BMW Group director of sales and marketing Pieter Nota recently provided more information on how the new approach will work.
BMW calls this new way of selling cars the agency model. Under this strategy, BMW would bill customers directly and dealers would receive a flat fee for each sale – and customers would get the same price regardless of where the new sales model was in operation. The company believes this new method will benefit the three parties involved in the process of buying a new vehicle. BMW also said there was a misunderstanding about how this new sales process would work.
But when will this new experience begin? The BMW Group will start with the Mini brand in 2024, followed by the BMW brand about two years later. For now, this agency model will only be implemented in the European market with no word on whether BMW will also implement this business practice in the United States.
“We will enhance the customer experience and provide our agents with an attractive business model, while at the same time gaining direct access to customers. Those are the three most important aspects of our plan,” said Pieter Nota Automotive News in a recent interview.
Mini, the small vehicle brand of the UK-based BMW Group, is already preparing a new agency model. Memorandum told the online publication, however, the marque was not a guinea pig “that we could then do better at BMW two years later.” The new structures and IT developments that will support this sweeping change are already “far away” and there seems to be no turning back – like it or not, BMW will quickly sell you a new BMW or Mini for a fixed price and will pay its dealer a commission for every transaction . Doesn’t sound bad, does it?
