If you had dreams of taking delivery of your BMW in Europe and enjoying a continental road trip, your time may be running out. According to a post on bimmerpost.com by Jimmy Bach who identifies as an employee of Steve Thomas BMW, May 18th will be the last day to get your order in for a European Delivery from BMW North America. These final orders will have to be picked up no later than September 2020 and you can't take a detour to the Nürburgring as track visits are verboten.
In what appears to be a memo sent out to US sales departments, European deliveries have fallen to less than 500 per year. The program which started in the 1970s, included a factory tour and access to the BMW museum, two weeks of registration and insurance, and once your road trip was concluded, shipping to your US dealer for final delivery. Currently, the BMW USA European delivery website is still up and there has been no formal announcement yet from BMW.
Jimmy's initial post says the key takeaways are:
- May 18th will be the last day BMW North America will accept pre-reservation forms.
- European Delivery must be completed by September 2020
- Customers who have placed a deposit for a 2021 model and would still like to take delivery by September 2020, BMW will accept the pre-reservation form without a production number.
- Anyone who is scheduled currently to purchase a vehicle through European Delivery will still be able to pick it up at the Welt through September 2020. Customers will receive an email stating they will be able to complete their original delivery as scheduled.
- For the remaining orders which still qualify for European Delivery, these vehicles may not be operated on any racetracks or involved in any racing activities while they are in Europe.
We reached out to contacts at BMW for a statement but have yet to receive a reply, we will update this story as more information becomes available.
See Memo below:
As the global market has evolved and BMW NA sales volumes have shifted more heavily towards SAVs during the past several years, the Performance Center Delivery in Spartanburg, South Carolina has seen continuing growth. Since its beginning in 1999, Performance Center Delivery has grown to more than 28,000 vehicle deliveries, while European Delivery, which has delivered approximately 30,000 vehicles since the 1970s, has experienced a significant decline in participation. Although BMW NA has historically represented an average of 2,000 European Deliveries annually, such deliveries have declined in recent years to under 500. Based on these trends and long-term evaluation, BMW Group will end the European Delivery Program in 2020 and cease accepting reservations as of May 18, 2020.
Our delivery programs have always provided owners with the opportunity to expand their BMW ownership experience and while BMW Group is ending the European operation due to declining global demand, we are proud to continue offering the Ultimate Delivery Experience to our customers through the Performance Center in Spartanburg," said April Vigilante, department head, corporate & special sales, BMW NA. "We encourage all centers to leverage this exciting program to immerse customers in the culture of BMW at the Zentrum, explore the factory, and experience the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' on the track."
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