Inspired by Apple retail stores, BMW will soon require dealers to hire young, tech-savvy employees to handle questions about its vehicles on the showroom floor.
The "BMW Genius Everywhere" program is being launched across Europe after a trial at several large dealership groups in the UK last year. A pilot program in the United States will begin later this year in several stores and will be rolled out nationwide by early 2014.
The program has specially-trained employees -- many of them college students -- patrolling dealerships with iPads in hand. The BMW "Geniuses" will be available to inform shoppers about vehicles and features, but they will not sell cars.
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