As we have reported before (see the story on Tesla seeking to bypass traditional car dealers), the retail auto industry is changing. Now comes word that BMW is going to change the dealership experience and modify the role of salespeople.

What do YOU think of BMW’s plans?

According to Christina Rogers and Joseph B. White, writing for the Wall Street Journal:

“Luxury car maker BMW AG wants to bring its dealerships into the digital age, recommending they rip out showroom cubicles, install flat screen displays, and hire ‘product geniuses’ to explain the complex technology in its cars without the pressure to close a sale. BMW’s new program could mean, among other things, fewer salespeople and fewer cars on showroom floors, and more information delivered through video displays and by employees who are ‘definitely, definitely not salesmen,’ said sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson.”

“BMW’s plan reflects a broader anxiety among auto company executives and independent dealers that consumers accustomed to online shopping and the ultraclean look of Apple Inc.’s stores are increasingly impatient with the 20th Century ambience of most auto dealerships.”

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Photo by Kevin Hagen for the Wall Street Journal