VW opens worlds smallest car dealership

Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Volkswagen Australia has launched the world's smallest new car dealership.

You might think that when it comes to brand new, cutting edge new car dealerships, bigger is usually seen as better. But Volkswagen Australia is going in a different direction.

The Australian arm of the German giant has just revealed the world’s smallest new car dealership, but not only is it tiny, it is also mobile and yet it still holds six new models.

And it does that despite only being 28cm tall. This is because it is a cute little scale model of a dealership that the company is using to launch its new online sales initiative for the T-Cross and T-Roc SUVs.

Volkswagen smallest dealership AR T-Cross T-Roc

The miniature dealership has QR codes that potential customers can scan with their phones that will lead them to a dedicated website that will allow them to take virtual tours of the T-Roc and T-Cross using augmented reality.

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The reason behind the initiative is that recent studies show that, like Kiwis, Aussies are increasingly turning to online shopping following the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lock downs, even for big ticket items that have traditionally been sold in person, including cars.

Volkswagen Australia says it has seen this trends first-hand, having sold more than 460 cars online to the since April, leading to the launch of the world’s smallest car dealership, which it calls “an activation that highlights the need for more choice and convenience in the way Aussies shop for cars.”

“Many people wouldn’t think that Aussies are prepared to buy a car online, but they actually are, and the success of our online store is a testament to that,” said Jason Bradshaw, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer for Volkswagen Australia.

“The launch of Volkswagen’s smallest dealership and AR experience is all about making buying a car online easier and more convenient so Aussies can find, test out and then customise the perfect car for them.”

Augmented reality is playing an increasingly important role in consumer shopping experiences with 49 per cent of Australian consumers saying they would like to use AR as part of their online purchasing to get a better feel for a product.

Volkswagen Australia says its new AR experience uses the most advanced graphics for realism while letting customers choose their car colour and play with what it looks like on their driveway at the beach or supermarket, before heading inside to look at the interiors, all from their mobile device.

If they are feeling particularly confident in their choice, customers can even buy the car directly from the website. But we would still advise actually driving it first…

For more on the smallest dealership to check out the surprisingly fun AR experience for yourself visit www.smallestdealership.com.au.

But don’t hit that “Buy” button though, because it is currently only for Australia, with a Volkswagen New Zealand spokesperson saying “Such a great initiative from the Aussies for sure. This is in scope for NZ and it has been discussed quite a bit this year due to the circumstances.”

But apparently VW NZ’s data tells it that its customers “aren’t quite ready to buy a car online yet, but we see this becoming a part of the car-buying journey in the near future.”