At a time when its competition are shifting into brand "experience stores", BMW has declared the traditional dealership a key plank of its future, though conceding they will have to merge with the online space.
The German brand is currently working on a "Future of Retail" concept that will be rolled out both globally and in Australia, and the company's local CEO says its dealerships won't "disappear".
"I wouldn’t say the dealership model will change, but the way we interact with our customers will evolve," says BMW Group Australia CEO, Vikram Pawah. "What is happening, though, is the online space is becoming bigger - there’s no doubt about it.
"So, what's happening online, what's happening in a physical space, and how do they merge? Currently they’re two different things, but they need to merge at some point, they need to be seamless, and whatever is required to make that happen, that’s what we’ll do."
The news comes at a time when some manufacturers are slowly shifting away from a dealership model, with Mercedes launching the "Mercedes me"concept store and cafe on Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD - a place where there is subtle branding, a single car parked and no traditional salespeople on site. Instead, it largely functions as a working cafe or event space.
Lexus, too, has spoken of launching its Japanese-inspired concept-store strategy across Australia, while Genesis is promising to reimagine the dealership model when it launches as a standalone brand here.
But BMW is taking a different long-term view, saying dealerships form a major part of its future plans.
"I don’t think the dealership will disappear. The touch and feel of a car is there, the test drive is still the biggest thrill you have before you buy a car, and you need to be able to do that," Mr Pawah says.
"But how the interaction is taking place, how the digital is interacting with the dealerships, that will be interesting.
"We are working, at a regional and global level, on these things. We have nothing to declare at this point, but we are working on a few concepts for what we call the Future of Retail."
.jpg)
.jpg)
