BMW LAUNCHES VIRTUAL SALES CENTERS

Interactive Station Enables Sales Personnel to Demonstrate Key Features
Previously Unavailable During Test-Drive Experience

WOODCLIFF LAKE, NEW JERSEY, APRIL 22, 2002...BMW of North America has begun
unveiling a groundbreaking new sales tool dubbed the BMW Virtual Sales Center
(VSC) - the first project of its kind to hit automotive showrooms across the
U.S.

Due to arrive at BMW sales centers across the country this year, the
interactive station gives visual demonstrations of features that cannot be
shown during the average test-drive experience. At the touch of a finger, the
VSC makes available informational video, such as crash tests, and demonstrates
specific state-of-the-art BMW features that enable various models to perform
well in unstable weather conditions such as snow, sleet and heavy rain - a key
selling point in today's market, as noted by dealers nationwide.

"It's impossible to demonstrate how models will perform during bad weather or
in an accident during a test-drive," said Jim McDowell, Vice President,
Marketing for BMW of North America, LLC. "The VSC is an excellent sales tool in
demonstrating features that are becoming an increasingly important element of
consumers' purchasing decisions."

A project unlike any other undertaken by North American auto dealers, high-end
hardware allows the VSC to display non-streaming DVD quality video. Connected
by high-speed Internet access, video clips and up-to-date information can be
uploaded to VSC's across the country overnight - a major advantage over the
previous system implemented in 1995. Previous interactive showroom sales tools
utilized cd based technology, which had to be distributed to individual dealers
on a regular basis.

The VSC units deliver "a full, BMW branding experience," according to Holly
Babich, BMW's Consumer Events Manager, the executive who turned BMW's vision
into an innovative showroom-marketing tool. "The VSC provides DVD-quality
sight, sound and motion including lush driving footage of every series and
model. And it all happens within a few feet of the sight and aroma of the
actual vehicles."

In addition to these groundbreaking features, the VSC gives customers hands-on
experience with the revolutionary new 7 Series feature, iDrive. One of the key
elements of idrive is a centrally located rotary knob that allows the driver or
front seat passenger to set preference for a wide range of vehicle functions,
including climate control, navigation, telephone and entertainment.

"The iDrive simulator is the next best thing to a test drive," according to
Babich, "because it features the actual software and hardware used in the new 7
Series. It allows customers to experience the full power of what BMW's Design
Director Chris Bangle calls an 'intuitive approach to driving that puts the
driver first.'"

"High-speed web access also means that for personal interaction like Build Your
Own BMW, the VSC rapidly and seamlessly secures the appropriate page within
BMW's web site. Now our customers can explore different models and colors
until their dream car appears. But with a major difference from pure web
interaction," Babich said. "This time, a BMW client advisor will be standing
by, ready to turn that dream into a sale."

The VSC also includes full-screen versions of such things as BMW's innovative
Internet film series, The Hire.

In creating the stations, BMW put a high priority on communicating the richness
of the BMW brand. "A BMW is far more than the sum of its parts," said Babich
"It's the whiff of racing legend, of James Bond, and more recently The Hire -
BMW's award-winning Internet film series created by renowned directors John
Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie and Alejandro Gonzalez
Inarritu. For those who might have missed it, or who want to see it again
bigger and better, The Hire is all there, too, easily accessible through the
main menu."

The sleek design of the VSC features a polished beveled glass tabletop along
with two high stools that invites consumers to sit and experience the world of
BMW. Adding to the unique design are two powder-coated metal doors. When open,
the unit reveals the multimedia touch screen and changeable graphic panels.
Closed, the unit has a sturdy look and feel, with an aluminum and chrome plated
steel body that reflects the design elements of the interior of the BMW Center
showroom. Concealed storage compartments and lockable keyboard unit are
located beneath the glass tabletop surface for dealer accessibility.

BMW of North America, LLC. teamed with Frank Mayer & Associates, Inc., a
full-service merchandising company based in Grafton, WI, to design and build
the BMW Virtual Sales Center (VSC). Frank Mayer & Associates in turn brought
aboard award winning partners: Reality Pictures of New York City for all video
and graphic content; Netkey, Inc., of Branford, CT for its patented,
web-enabled kiosk management software, its innovative video integration
expertise as well as its considerable overall software solutions know-how and
Omni Tech Corp of Pewaukee, WI to supply the hardware that would support BMW's
vision of a fast, connected system.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since
then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales
and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands; a South
Carolina manufacturing operation; DESIGNWORKS/USA, an industrial design firm in
California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations
throughout the country. The BMW Group is represented in the U.S. through
networks of 340 BMW car, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle
retailers and 53 MINI car dealers. BMW US Holding Corp., the Group's
headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff
Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet
at http://www.bmwusa.com http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com and
http://www.miniusa.com
.
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