MG Motor India on Thursday announced the opening of its first digital studio in Bengaluru aimed at offering a unique visual immersive experience, the company said. MG said that the Digital Studio, which will have no cars on display, is a sharp departure from the traditional automobile showroom, showcasing the future of automobile retail.
According to the company, apart from avoiding the increased costs of operating a conventional car showroom including aspects like space, rentals and infrastructure, the new business model helps unlock operational efficiencies and offers more convenience as customer preferences move towards digital.
“In big cities, you can’t afford to have a big showroom in the busy neighbourhoods. Thanks to technology and the way millennials are consuming information now, this studio has been made possible. We believe that such showrooms represent the next-generation network footprint in the automotive business,” Rajeev Chaba, president & managing director, MG Motor India, said.
He added that if the pilot project is successful, the cost of operations will be one-fourth that of a normal showroom and will be about Rs 4-4.5 lakh a month. “The infrastructure cost of this studio per car comes down by 70 per cent and you get closer to the customer,” Chaba added.
The digital studio demonstrates the company’s first
SUV Hector, using digital tools such as ‘Immersive Voice’ and AI-based human recognition, the company said. MG Motor has partnered with Mumbai-based Eccentric Engine for ‘One 3-D’, its automotive visualisation platform, for providing an immersive experience to its customers.
The company has been having a good run in the Indian car market. It recently announced the delivery of 700 units of its Hector SUV on the occasion of Dhanteras. The company is also working to streamline its supply chain on priority to be able to start off the second shift at its manufacturing unit from November.
Future of auto retail
According to the company, apart from avoiding the increased costs of operating a conventional car showroom including aspects like space, rentals and infrastructure, the new business model helps unlock operational efficiencies and offers more convenience as customer preferences move towards digital keeping in mind the growing importance of omni-channel brand presence.