Free Uber Ride in a BMW 7 Series Today—but Why?

The demographics don’t match up. At all.

byClifford Atiyeh|
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Buyers ready to throw down on a new BMW 7 Series are older. They’re moneyed. They’ve got several cars, a big home in a beautiful part of town and have enough savings to purchase and register a six-figure luxury sedan without going broke.

So it only follows that BMW, starting right now, is letting Uber users in four U.S. cities reserve free rides inside a 2016 7 Series. On Oct. 19 only, BMW will shuttle Uber passengers around New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles via this “unique and exciting way to experience our flagship model.”

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Granted, we’d suspect the only part of this promotion that the carless, young urban dwellers who comprise the core of Uber’s ridership will care about is “free.” These people, the 21-to-34s glued to their mobile phones, are the core of Uber’s business model. In the U.S., they represent more than two-thirds of Uber customers. Most aren’t making enough to get into a base 740i. Meanwhile, the average 7 Series customer is over 60. Uber takes care of about two percent of Americans aged 55 to 64.

Secondly, do Uber users really care what car they’re riding in? Car and Driver magazine’s Davey G. Johnson recently chauffeured Uber riders in San Francisco with a $500k Rolls-Royce Phantom. Passengers were amused at the novelty, and the chance to appear in a national magazine. But that stunt probably didn’t move them into a Rolls or any dealership within the next six months to one year.

Uber’s core ridership is happy to pay the dude in the 2006 Dodge Caliber if he arrives quickly and gets them to their destination without getting lost. A 7 Series? Nice for 15 minutes. Not going to buy one.

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