BMW postpones agency model implementation

After the BMW Group had already switched Mini sales to the agency model in 2024, the plan was to introduce it for the core BMW brand at the beginning of 2026. However, this timetable has been pushed back, but BMW, unlike VW, is sticking to the move.

The agency model is a hot and even controversial item in the industry. Currently, most cars are sold through dealers, who act as salespersons to the consumer. The agency model represents a departure from this principle. In that case, the local dealer is no longer the customer’s contractual partner, but the car manufacturer is.

Intermediary role

In the agency model, the dealer only acts as an intermediary service provider or sales agent and receives a share of the vehicle purchase via a fixed fee. Individual price negotiations with the dealer are no longer possible, as the dealer is no longer the contractual partner.

This should allow the manufacturer to have closer contact with its customers and ensure standardized prices while reducing the dealer’s risk but also his margin.

Mini first

The BMW Group announced the switch to the agency model in October 2023 and initially implemented it for the Mini brand. Italy, Poland, and Sweden were the first to do so on 1 January 2024, followed by other countries, including Germany and Belgium, on 1 October 2024.

The plan was to switch the core BMW brand to the agency model at the beginning of 2026 in several European countries, including Germany. However, according to a report in the German magazine Automobilwoche, the switch will be delayed.

BMW is looking into “minor adjustments to the schedule for the ramp-up of the BMW market launches in the individual markets,” a spokesperson confirmed to the German journal. This would ensure “optimum implementation of the processes while maintaining the highest possible quality.”

However, BMW has not announced a new start date for the agency model. At the same time, the company emphasizes that it is sticking with it. “The genuine agency model is the future-proof sales model for Europe,” the BMW spokesperson said.

That is because there has been increasing uncertainty in the industry since VW announced in December 2024 that it intended to discontinue the agency sales model launched in April 2020 at the beginning of 2026. However, VW introduced the agency model only for its electric cars, not for other drive types.

No glitches

The delay at BMW is because everything should run perfectly right from the start. Mini is said to have experienced noticeable difficulties during the switchover because processes and IT systems did not function as intended, which hindered sales.

Not all purchase scenarios and eventualities were initially covered in the systems, and the manufacturer has since had to rework them during ongoing operations. Last December, when we met the Belux responsible persons, they confirmed that there were some glitches. They were solved quickly because the switch had been prepared for a long time in close cooperation with the concerned dealers.

However, the BMW Group does not want to take this risk with its core brand, which had seven times as many new registrations as Mini last year. This is especially true as BMW prices are, on average, significantly higher than Mini prices, and the sales effect would be correspondingly more significant.