Renault to open car-less showroom in India

Imagine walking into a showroom with no cars in it. No, we aren’t weaving an imaginary story here. This is what Renault plans to do in the upcoming days. In a futuristic move, the carmaker has planned to open car-less showroom in the country.

Renault is joining hands with TVS & Sons, the parent company of TVS Group, whose brainchild is this unique concept. The logic behind this innovative concept is simple. The showroom will have no cars. Instead cars will be showcased on digital screens. 

Customers will be able to get preliminary product introduction on internet-enabled large TVs. The dealer will store inventory in a stockyard. This digital dealership concept is expected to reduce the dealer's costs as floor space of a showroom is more expensive than that of a stockyard.

According to Sumit Sawhney, CEO and Managing Director of Renault India, the digital showroom will be an experience centre. He states that consumers see a car on the road before going to the showroom to have a closer look. So not having cars in the showroom will not be a dampener. If the idea is successful, it will be replicated across other showrooms.

Renault's current market share in the country stands at two per cent, which it aims at increasing to five per cent. Its success in the country has been largely attributed to the Duster, which has touched the 1.25-lakh mark in volumes. The Renault Lodgy, Sawhney believes, will provide an impetus to the carmaker's India drive, backed largely by strengthening the dealer network to 205 from the current 157.