One of the problems in any auto dealership is finding space to show a reasonable selection of your brand's range - even Smart has enough models to fill a downtown store-front, and that doesn't include colour and trim variations.
Audi, for instance, catalogues several hundred million variations in its range of cars and SUV's, making it impossible to showcase them all. That means salespeople have to sell features, colours and options to customers 'sight unseen'.
Or do they?
Yesterday morning Audi opened a dealership in central London, close to Piccadilly circus, that has only one car on the floor - but where you can see every possible variation of every model in the Four Ring Circus.
“This new format brings us even closer to our customers.”
Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management for marketing, explained: “Audi City combines the best of two worlds - digital product presentation and personal contact with the dealer. It offers new freedom for tailor-made services and an even more individual contact with the customer.”
Customers can digitally create their car from hundreds of million of possible configurations and see it full-size on screens that fill almost the entire space - and then look individually at technical details such as the drivetrain, bodyshell or LED light technology, making them understandable on an intuitive level.
Each customer speaks to just one person at Audi City, who becomes that person's point of contact for everything from the first consultation to after-sales and servicing throughout their ownership of that car. For that reason Audi City is partnered with a nearby conventional Audi dealership for the full range of after-sales service.
This highly personalised and individual service requires new skills.
Audi has had to train the Audi City staff to expert level in IT, so that they can explain the system to customers and (quite literally) walk them through it.
Audi City London is only the first of these 'digital downtown shopfronts'. Audi is planning to open at least 20 in major cities worldwide by 2015, which will play a major part in marketing electric cars and new mobility services.
The idea is that each Audi City will evolve into a meeting place for Audi enthusiasts, and a forum for issues beyond the core business of selling cars. For example, Schwarzenbauer believes that after working hours they could play host to readings, round-table discussions and exhibitions on issues such as urban development and mobility, motorsport, or automotive design.