The new pilot car program from BMW includes concierge delivery, insurance, roadside assistance, and maintenance.
It’s the 21st century. You can subscribe to magazines, Youtube channels, and now—BMW cars? Why yes. Yes, you can.
The automotive landscape is changing. Traditional sedans are losing ground to SUVs, trucks, and crossovers. More and more, one-owner automobiles in general are competing for wallet space against car-sharing services. Autonomous driving and advanced mobility solutions are growing more sophisticated.
Cultivating the New Trend
BMW has responded to the trend by launching a two-tier car subscription service in Nashville, Tennessee. By using the Access By BMW app, program participants can access the first level of vehicles for $2,000 (plus a $575 joining fee). According to CNBC, that tier includes “delivery by a concierge, use of the car, insurance, roadside assistance, maintenance and unlimited switches between models.”
The top tier costs $3,700 a month and provides access to M models. That’s well north of the $1,299-a-month lease BMW offers on the $102,600 M5, but also allows program participants to take their pick of M cars at their convenience.
In an online statement, Ian Smith, CEO of BMW Group Financial Services USA, said, “Subscription-based services are of emerging interest for our customers, and we’re excited to be offering a mobility service to meet their individual and evolving needs.”
Lest We Forget the Competition
BMW is not alone in this new automotive space. CNBC reported that Porsche already started its own two-tier subscription service in Atlanta way back in November. Porsche’s top-shelf assortment of cars is available for $3,000 a month. Predictably, the program is attracting a younger audience, one that consists of people who are comfortable with paying for a car month by month instead of over the course of years.
Right now, BMW’s subscription service is only available in Nashville, but expect it to expand dealerships nationwide in the future.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
