An exclusive delegation of 12 owners of North American BMW dealerships visited Bowker BMW in Preston this month.

The delegates represented the top 5% performing BMW dealerships in North America and were guests of BMW in a fact-finding tour demonstrating the very latest in BMW modern retailing.

After a £1.5 million refurbishment completed in June, Bowker BMW now offers one of UK's most modern retail environments.

Bowker Preston managing director Tom Fox said,

"We were very proud to host a visit from some of the most influential BMW dealership owners in North America.  And delighted to show them our newly-refurbished and modernised showroom. We received many favourable comments on the new retail space we have developed here in Preston.

"Whilst our investment has further improved our customer experience, we can still learn a lot from other dealerships including those across the Atlantic. It would be nice to think this might pave the way to us sharing even more ideas and best practice in the future."

Bowker BMW, on Preston docks, opened its new expanded and refurbished dealership last month. 

The two-phase development, announced last August, has delivered additional showroom capacity to accommodate 16 more cars and 34 in total. The investment has also created a further five new jobs.

The dealership is one of only 46 UK sales agents that supplies and supports BMW i, BMW’s new sub-brand featuring electric drive systems and premium mobility services.  The first production BMW electric car - the fully-electric BMW i3 megacity vehicle - went on sale in November.  The new plug-in hybrid i8 was launched this month.