Welcome to the car yard of the future

Buying a car should not be a chore. In Brisbane, one innovative dealership is making shopping for cars an experience to remember.

Mercedes Benz

Buying a car should not be a chore. In Brisbane, one innovative dealership is making shopping for cars an experience to remember.

Brisbane is leading the world into a new automotive era. It’s much more than just cars, as the $100 million new home of Mercedes-Benz Brisbane is intended to be an upscale lifestyle shopping and relaxation precinct with everything from fine dining to a yoga studio.

The giant glass-panelled edifice on the banks of Breakfast Creek, which opened August 1, looks more like a luxury apartment complex than a car dealership and that is no accident.

The LSH Group, a low profile global company with an annual turnover of more than $25billion from operations at 118 cities in seven countries, believes that 21st car buyers are looking for much more from their automotive experience and is investing heavily in a different approach to retailing.

That perspective is reflected in a five-storey dealership which has an automotive heart but is surrounded by everything from a boardwalk cafe to a dedicated floor for lifestyle tenants including an upscale real estate agency, and a five-star rooftop restaurant. Welcome to the car yard of today. 

LSH has only been operating in Australia for five years, but is on a rapid growth path and also looking to change the automotive business. It has revitalised retailing in its other major hubs, from Asia to England, and is now pushing the boundaries with the creation of its Brisbane flagship.

“It’s a world first. What we are doing is developing a new way of interacting with customers,” says the CEO of LSH Auto Group Australia, John Good.

“Bricks and mortar are important, but so is the interaction with customers. It’s different to what you get in a traditional dealership.

“By creating this lifestyle concept, we are creating a new way to interact with customers, and a unique experience. What people can expect is premium dining, cooking schools, health and wellbeing, and shared office services.

“It is a day in the journey of a customer.”

Mercedes-Benz Brisbane is a reflection of the LSH Group’s commitment to Australia and also its ambition to create a new automotive approach that can be transplanted across its growing global network.

“Breakfast Creek is the first of its kind. We’re ahead of other markets with the lifestyle development,” says Good.

“It’s being benchmarked in the industry and the LSH Group. What we learn here we’ll be able to emulate in other markets around the world.”

Work on the dealership began more than three years ago, and the giant undertaking included everything from preliminary sketches and plans to the clearing of the site at Breakfast Creek Wharf for the start of construction, through to the final finishing work.

The vast dealership has everything from a dedicated arrivals plaza, to parking for more than 150 cars, wash and work bays, a double-helix internal driveway to service four levels, and the retail operations centre over three levels. The main showroom has space for 38 cars, there is an upscale S Class luxury lounge, concierge parking and four service-reception lanes with up to 16 staff.

There is also a LSH/Mercedes-Benz museum and a dedicated AMG showroom.

The total operational area is more than 32,000 square metres and the whole of Mercedes-Benz Brisbane has been created to the new global standard for the three-pointed star, the 2020 MAR - which stands for Market Architecture.

The main showroom is on the fourth floor, a deliberate choice to move visitors through the dealership and also give them extensive city views.

The 2020 MAR means a top-quality fit-out from the floor coverings to ceiling, electronics and touch-screens, lighting and display areas. The lighting, power, screens and even coffee machines can all be centrally controlled by iPads.

The space is also intended for use as a destination for community events in the evening.

“It certainly is a very big undertaking by the group, and a confident undertaking. The overall investment is over $100 million,” says Good.

“We aim to grow to sales of 2000 vehicles out of that business. And, in terms of the workshop, we have 45 bays so we’re looking to do around 20,000 units through the workshop each year.”

The revolutionary expansion comes as the industry steps away from the stereotypical pushy, pearly-white-flaunting salesmen with inflatable arm-flailing tube men. 2019 marks the start of the reinvention of customer service with other big brands putting customers at the forefront of their business models. 

What it means for consumers, is no longer dreading the new car purchase experience, rather enjoying it. 

Development of the Breakfast Creek site is expected to continue for several months, as LSH finds tenants and partners for the new operation.

“It’s a world first and we’re looking to bring along like-minded complementary businesses to share the facility,” Good says.

“With Mercedes-Benz Brisbane as the anchor we have the opportunity to create a destination operation. A lifestyle facility. It’s an opportunity to be part of a totally new approach to automotive retailing.”

For more information on the new Brisbane precinct, head here.

Originally published as Welcome to the car yard of the future