BMW PH opens their latest showroom... and it's online
BMW Philippines initiates digital revolution with new online showroom
by Vince PornelosThe ongoing coronavirus pandemic is certainly making automobile sales a challenge, especially with new social distancing guidelines, quarantine protocols and the like. Given that situation, it comes as no surprise that car companies worldwide are coming up with novel solutions to the difficulties brought about by the novel coronavirus, and one of them is the virtual online showroom.
Locally, the Philippine auto industry is starting to recognize the potential online, and the first automotive company in the premium sector to fully go online is BMW Philippines.
BMW Philippines has just announced that they have just opened their first new showroom since the lockdowns started, and it's not a physical one: it's a digital showroom.
If you log on to https://bethefirst.bmw.com.ph/digitalshowroom/ you'll be taken to a new microsite owned by BMW Philippines, and their customers can browse the many models offered by BMW Philippines.
Customers can log on, view all the units available complete with prices, download brochures, select the units they're interested in, and leave their contact details. Within 72 hours, a sales representative from the nearest BMW dealership will get in touch with the customer and go through all the necessary steps like booking test drives and making reservations and payments.
The key thing about the digital showroom is that it shows the current offers available from BMW Philippines like discounts and the like. And many of the high-end models have huge discounts for interested clients.
The digital showroom serves as another portal to help BMW clients reduce their showroom visits if they're interested in a new model. The company says they will be adding features to the digital showroom as time passes, depending on how the situation progresses.
BMW Philippines is still going to work out how to add features such as paying for a vehicle online (if need be), though what is still unclear is whether the local customers will actually try to purchase multi-million peso BMWs via the web.
What do you think? Is buying a BMW online something Filipino customers will be open to? Let us know in the comments below.