BMW has postponed the European rollout of its direct sales, or agency model, until 2027, extending the timeline from its initial 2026 target, the company told Automotive News Europe.
The German carmaker emphasized that the delay does not reflect a change of strategy, pointing to encouraging results from its MINI brand’s switch to direct sales in several European countries last year.
“We’re honestly even more convinced than before that that is the right approach,” BMW board member Jochen Goller said in an interview.
Under the agency model, automakers retain ownership of the vehicles and set fixed prices, while dealerships serve as intermediaries but no longer act as contractual partners. The model aims to cut costs, improve transparency, and eliminate haggling, while dealers continue to earn fixed commissions.
In a statement explaining the delay, a BMW spokesperson said: “We have been revising the ramp-up and go-to-market sequence for BMW, making minor adjustments to the overall timeline to ensure both rapid implementation and a benchmark level of operational excellence. The exact timeline for rollout in individual markets will be announced at a later date, as planned.”
BMW has prior experience with the model, having used it for the i3 and i8 in the early 2010s and piloted a digital sales platform in South Africa in 2020.
While the company remains focused on expanding direct sales in Europe, it said the approach is not viable in the United States due to state laws that restrict automakers from selling directly to consumers.
