Irvine Mazda GMC is set to be one of the first California Mazda dealers to have the automaker’s new “retail revolution” dealership come April.
The new showroom is set to be next to Irvine Mazda’s current building at the Irvine Auto Center. The old building is set to house vehicles from General Motors Corp.
“It’s not going to look like your normal dealership,” said Tung Nguyen, sales manager for Irvine Mazda. “There’s not a ton of concrete.”
The design mostly is steel and glass. The colors: orange, green and black. Plans also call for a coffee bar, a staple for most dealers.
Mazda North American Operations, the Irvine-based arm of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp., said it is remaking dealerships because car buying still is a dreaded experience, according to a statement.
“Ask anyone on the street and you’re likely to find that most, if not all, rate the ‘vehicle purchase experience’ up there with filing taxes and going to the dentist,” the automaker said.
The idea behind the design is to make the buying process more pleasant, Nguyen said. The showroom will be more visual. Plasma screens will display Mazda’s history. Colors will be brighter and cars will be displayed on hydraulic lifts. There also will be more emphasis on the test drive and less on aggressive sales.
Mazda began the makeover in 2003 with its Bountiful, Utah, dealership. Through September, 30 retail revolution dealerships had opened. By the end of 2006, Mazda projects to have 100 dealers converted.
Dealers aren’t required to transform their dealerships. But Mazda is expecting 200 will open within the next five years. Mazda has 700 dealers nationwide.
Mazda is one of a number of automakers that have been redesigning their dealer image.
Last year, Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp., part of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., began pushing its “Square” concept, a dealer makeover at a cost of about $230 million.
As with Mazda, existing Suzuki dealers don’t have to retrofit their dealerships but are strongly encouraged to do so.
Local Acura dealers also have remodeled to be in step with the Honda Motor Co. unit.
Auto Surprises
Costa Mesa-based Orange County Auto Dealers Association’s November Auto Outlook report, which tallies new auto registrations, had some surprises.
Audi saw an increase of nearly 60% for the 12 months through November. In hard numbers, OC Audi dealers sold 2,201 cars during the period.
For the month of November, Audi dealers sold 214 cars, up from 65 a year earlier.
“The redesigned A4 has been a big hit,” said Matt Gunderson, president of Audi of Mission Viejo.
The A8 also has been picking up nods, such as being one of the “top 10 cars for CEOs,” he said.
Overall, Audi’s design is starting to resonate with local car buyers as an alternative to other luxury makers such as Mercedes-Benz or BMW, according to Gunderson.
“The consumer in OC likes the newest and the best,” he said.
They also are looking for ways to be distinct, Gunderson said.
The biggest challenge for Audi of Mission Viejo is to get more cars to sell, he said. Audi has been allocating cars using a “business planning objective” method, which sets allocations by forecasting monthly sales for a particular region.
That means if the dealership is projected to sell 30 cars for November and actually sells 50, then it cuts into next month’s allocation.
In March, Audi plans to start using a “turn and earn” system, which means the more cars a dealership sells the more it gets, Gunderson said.
That will put Audi in line with Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The big news for Audi dealers this year is Audi’s first sport utility vehicle, the Q7, which was on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
It should be on lots in May or June.
Germany’s Audi AG has been slow to accept what Americans want, which is why it was late to the market with an SUV, Gunderson said.
Audi, which is the top-selling car in Germany, wants its cars to drive like sports cars, he said. The Q7 won’t be a behemoth SUV. It will be a seven-passenger vehicle that’s a bit bigger than the Porsche Cayenne.
Audi of Mission Viejo is a relative newcomer. The dealership opened about a year and a half ago. Gunderson and his brother Scott own the Audi dealership as well as Infinity of Mission Viejo.
More From November
Another surprise in the November report from the Orange County Auto Dealers Association: Mercedes-Benz sales were down 8.6% for the month.
Local Mercedes dealers sold 990 autos during the month. BMW dealers nearly beat Mercedes, selling 976 autos in November. BMW sales were up nearly 15% from a year earlier. OC’s Lexus dealers sold 940 autos in November, a 12.2% increase.
Meanwhile, sales at Mitsubishi dealers were up 4.4% in November. Local dealers sold 214 cars in November. Hyundai was up 75%, reporting 198 registrations for the month.
For the 12 months through November, Jaguar was the biggest decliner.
The brand had a 37% decrease in vehicle registrations.
Scion sales have slowed, with a 1.4% decline for the period.
After Audi, Land Rover had the next biggest percentage increase at 57%.
