NASHVILLE, Tennessee, popularly known as Music City and home of the weekly Grand Ole Opry, is about to become the guinea pig of a new subscription program by BMW.
Its ‘Access by BMW’ program, lets drivers sample a selection of its products and swap between them with no extra fees
If it proves successful, BMW will expand it to other cities in the US.
One component, called Legend, costs US$2000 a month gives subscribers access to its 4-Series coupe and cabrio, the 5-Series sedan, the X5 SUV and the sporty M2 coupe.
If those are too tame, you can spend US$3700 a month for the ‘M’ program and hop between an M4 cabrio, M5, M6 cabrio, X5M, and X6M.
More than a lease, Access by BMW includes insurance, roadside assistance, and maintenance and BMW dealers will provide concierge services such as delivery and collection for service.
Cadillac and Volvo have similar deals, but sans the choice and changeover.
‘Book by Cadillac’ starts at just US$1500 a month, while ‘Care by Volvo’ costs about $650 a month for its XC40 SUV.
BMW is not new to subscriptions. It launched its ReachNow car-sharing service in 2016, charging users by the minute for use of either an i3, 3-Series, or Mini Cooper.
It will also soon charge users a $80 a month for access to Apple CarPlay, a service free in most other brands.
If you can live without Apple CarPlay, well, just enjoy the Zac Brown Band or other country stars on the car’s Bang & Olufsen high-end Surround Sound system as you cruise the streets of Nashville. No extra fee for that.
