BMW Group will roll out a direct sales to consumer agency model for its Mini brand in Europe starting next year.
The new retail model will launch first in Italy, Poland and Sweden on Jan. 1. The remaining European countries will gradually follow soon after.
BMW brand dealers in Europe will transition to the agency model from 2026, the automaker said on Wednesday.
Automakers are introducing the agency model in their European markets to standardize online sales and in person purchases in showrooms.
Under the model, BMW will invoice customers directly and dealerships receive a fixed fee for the sale. Standard nationwide pricing for identical vehicle models will ensure price transparency for customers, BMW said.
BMW sales chief Pieter Nota said 100 percent of Mini dealers in Europe have signed the contract for the agency model.
BMW has about 700 Mini dealerships in 24 European markets.
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Nota negotiated the key details of the new agreement with dealers ahead of his retirement on Oct.31.
He said the agency model reduces the financial risks for dealers.
From January, the dealer's Mini vehicle inventory will be directly on the books of the BMW Group, not just on the dealer's books.
Nota said BMW will use digital marketing and direct customer contact in a more targeted manner to support dealers in selling the vehicles.
"My team and I have succeeded in reducing the number of digital and marketing agencies we employ throughout Europe from 80 partners to just three. This enables us to work together much more efficiently and to design the content of the approach," Nota told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche.
Fixed commission
Nota declined to comment on the fixed commissions that dealers will be paid under the new system.
According to sources familiar with the matter, BMW will pay a basic margin of 5.5 percent, plus a bonus of up to 1.9 percent.
By comparison, Audi, which sells its EVs in Europe through the agency model, pays its German dealers a 6 percent base margin and a bonus of 2.5 percent that will be reduced to 1.5 percent and 1 percent in 2026.
Mercedes-Benz, which is currently rolling out the model, starts with 6.5 percent in the first two years, after which dealers get 6 percent.
