Audi re-inventing the “showroom”?
Over the past few years, the folks at Audi have been aggressively innovating new ideas to help spread their brand across the globe. Their latest concept is Audi City, a digital showroom where potential buyers can spec any Audi model and then view it on a 1:1 scale. Customers can also use the technology to zoom in on individual parts of the car, explaining highlighted items in more detail.
Audi are obviously not looking to replace the traditional dealership setup, but it’s a clever way of using limited city space to engage potential buyers. In their words, it’s “complementary” to Audi’s physical showrooms.
The first Audi City is launching near Piccadilly Circus in London. 19 more stores are due to open in other major international cities by 2015.
My take on it all? Brilliant.
[Sources: What Car?, Audi City]
Explore posts in the same categories: Rants, TechnologyTags: Audi, Audi Brand, Audi City, Audi City Digital Showrooms, Audi Showrooms, Digital Showrooms
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July 17, 2012 at 3:32 am
that’s really cool and maybe cheaper than shipping actual cars
July 18, 2012 at 9:18 am
Al Nabooda, Audi’s dealer in Dubai, is launching the world’s largest Audi showroom around September this year on Sheikh Zayed Road and it’ll incorporate this feature for the first time in the region. They’ll be working with over 9000 square meters of floor space over three floors with escalators and car lifts, two basements with 100 parking spaces and a valet facility, the ability to display 57 cars over the three floors and will integrate the “power wall” to show customers virtual, life-size versions of their personalized vehicles.
I think this is a really cool idea and would be fantastic if other manufacturers caught onto it as well.
I’d love to see dealers in Kuwait work on investing into their facilities – having the majority of the dealers clustered along the Fourth Ring Road is starting to get really out of hand traffic- and organization-wise. This is a major shame since Kuwait is a very car-conscious market and it would look, feel and work far better if the area was properly laid out and dealer facilities take their standards up a few notches.
July 18, 2012 at 11:58 am
Definitely the most fun, innovative and creative car show room we have ever seen! Well done Audi for bring ahead of the game once more!
July 18, 2012 at 12:45 pm
@Miss Good Egg: This idea / concept definitely has many benefits, especially when it comes to cities with limited or expensive real estate (i.e. Tokyo, London, etc.)
@khabah: “Bigger is better” seems to be the way of doing things in this part of the world lol However, even though I think “more power to them”, the Audi City concept is more than simply offering a digital and interactive display in a showroom, like what they’re implementing in Dubai. The whole idea is to maximise limited available (and expensive) space in large cities, while retaining presence in a sustainable manner. With soaring prices in cities like London, Audi dealers would have to move outside the city limits in order to have enough space to showcase their cars. With Audi City, the brand retains its presence in high-traffic cities, while aiding their dealership network outside city limits.