London debuts the Audi City, the first fully digital dealership

Audi has opened its first digital dealership in London, which they have named Audi City, offering customers a fully digital experience, in which a large wall-screen takes center stage that allows users to make all kinds of combinations to check, the scale 1:1, what your ideal Audi would look like: colors, tires, upholstered… All through gesture control.

A new concept of dealership is born from the hand of Audi in the heart of London, near Picadilly Circus. Its name is Audi City and its main characteristic is the absence of cars, at least 'in flesh and blood'. On the contrary, The customer can access the entire Audi range virtually through giant screens of advanced technology. So, It is a fully adapted place, in which there are gigantic screens on the walls from which the entire line of vehicles of the brand is shown to customers.

The new Audi City offers an innovative customer experience thanks to the ability to control the screen and menus using gestures or movements that are read by a camera located in front. Between the different screens and menus, It has the possibility of seeing the inside of the car, the engine and tires from very close. After selecting the model, On the touch tables you can scrutinize all its features and benefits without leaving the place, and you can also configure the desired vehicle with great detail: colors, manual or automatic gearboxes, seating, tires…and see it in scale 1:1 in a few minutes, and you can even drive virtually as if it were a video game.

Cars to taste

Even the digital sound is customized and is a faithful reproduction of the real sound. All sounds have been digitized, the turn signals, the opening and closing of a door, press a button on the navigation system… Customers can configure the chosen model and then save the data to a USB to give it to a traditional distributor who will take care of the rest of the details.

These virtual dealers of the brand with the four rings, by offering everything digitally, require less space, so they can be located in the center of the main cities in the world. In fact, Audi is scheduled to create up to 20 dealerships in different cities up to 2015, with the next inauguration planned in Beijing. All models, different finishes, mechanical options, Colors and equipment will be within reach of the future buyer quickly. The only 'real' thing will be the textures for the upholstery, the rest will be on a screen.

This innovative dealership concept will allow greater personalization by the user and much more individualized treatment.. Meter Schwarzenbauer, Audi board member, has stated that “Audi combines the best of both worlds, the complete presentation of the product and dealing with the customer. Now, the buyer will enjoy greater freedom of personalization and more direct contact”.

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