First ‘Renault City’ opens in France

Not Exactly Amazon Prime, yet.

Groupe Renault, in partnership with the Sofibrie Group has established its first ‘Renault City’ concept store in the Val d’Europe shopping center in Seine-et-Marne. With this new experimental format in the heart of a major shopping area, Renault is establishing itself close to the places most frequented by potential customers. Open 7 days a week, it welcomes visitors from 10am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 8pm on Sunday. It’s the latest attempts by an automaker to address new age shopping habits. (Group Renault Debuts Hydrogen in Light Commercial Vehicles and Renault, Klépierre Join on Shopping Center Mobility Services)

“A site manager and five ambassadors take turns accompanying visitors in their discovery of the latest innovations from Renault through a physical and digital journey specifically designed for Renault City. The concept store is structured around several areas: an exhibition area for the two latest combustion and electrical or hybrid vehicles, and information corners, including a personalization and accessories area, equipped with a digital configurator,” said Renault. (Unattended Car Buying versus Traditional Purchasing;  Carvana Ups Size, Price of Common Offering. Results Unknown,  Carvana Launches First Vending Machine in California)

Visitors can conduct test-drives accompanied by an ambassador and order the vehicle of their choice on-site with the help of a commercial advisor.

Renault City, it’s said, will also  be an opportunity to test new services. Ambassadors will be able to present offers of used vehicles on tablets and customers will have the possibility to order spare parts and accessories, which will be delivered to Renault City on the “Click and Collect” principle.

“It responds to the evolution of the car customer’s journey by bringing together the digital and physical worlds allowing us to interact with our prospects at the earliest moment in their purchasing process,” said Ivan Segal, Senior Vice President, market area France of Groupe Renault.

 The opening of this Renault City is part of an overall strategy to deploy new Renault concept stores. In 2018, two Renault Electric Vehicle Experience Centers, dedicated to electric vehicles, opened in Stockholm and Berlin.