BMW Offers Virtual Transactions To Help Boost Sales

BMW has accelerated its use of digital sales practices, giving customers more options in how they purchase vehicles.

The 2021 BMW X5

Like most automotive manufacturers, BMW sales are down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the second quarter of 2020, BMW of North America reported sales totaling 50,957 BMW brand vehicles, a decrease of 39.3 percent versus the 83,976 vehicles sold in the same time period last year. The MINI USA sales totaled 5,288 vehicles, a decrease of 41.5 percent versus the 9,044 vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2019.

“While automotive sales in the U.S. continue to be impacted by the ongoing global pandemic, the situation has provided an opportunity to institute new practices and find new ways to better serve our customers,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO of BMW of North America.

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To that end, the manufacturer has accelerated its use of digital sales practices, allowing customers to move further down the path to purchase online before visiting a store, and enabling virtual transactions so that purchases may be completed digitally and vehicles delivered. Dealers are also offering “invisible” service, where vehicles in need of service or maintenance are picked up and dropped off without interaction.

“As a result of these efforts and with great partnership of our dealers, we have seen an increase in sales over each month of the quarter, which gives us reason to be cautiously optimistic for the second half of the year,” said Kuhnt. “As we continue to navigate these uncertain waters, we will always prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our employees, dealers and customers.”

In addition to the latest models sales numbers reported above, BMW Certified Pre-Owned vehicles sold 26,720 units during the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 11.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Total BMW Pre-Owned sold 51,465 vehicles during the second quarter, a decrease of 19.4 percent from the same quarter in 2019.

The MINI Certified Pre-Owned sold 2,153 vehicles during the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 39.7 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Total MINI Pre-Owned sold 5,250 vehicles in the second quarter, a decrease of 35.4 percent from the same quarter in 2019.

BMW Plant Spartanburg, in South Carolina, employs 11,000 workers making X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 SUVs and X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M coupes. The 7 million-square-foot campus typically produces more than 1,500 vehicles per day, running two shifts. Seventy percent of these vehicles are exported to 125 countries around the world.

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