Currently reading: Hyundai launches new digital car showroom

Korean manufacturer partners with online dealer to create digital car buying service, which will launch in November

Hyundai is launching a new digital car buying service, which will allow potential customers to research, specify and purchase a new car online.

The service, created in conjunction with dealer Rockar, will launch in November and aims to do away with traditional dealer interactions, such as speaking to salesmen.

The online service will be accompanied by a forecourt located at the Bluewater shopping complex in Kent. The complex has an annual footfall of 27 million people. Hyundai says the integration of both online and real-world elements are a world first for the industry.

Customers will be able to test drive vehicles from the site, as well as returning to have their vehicles serviced.

Hyundai isn't the first manufacturer to experiment with digital showrooms. Audi launched its first unit, dubbed Audi City, in London in 2012, and the brand has since said it plans to roll out more sites in both the UK and abroad. Similarly, the limited First Edition version of Volvo's new XC90 was only available to customers ordering the model online.

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Mini2 1 October 2014

Won't take off

I doubt this will take off. I wouldn't have thought that many Hyundai customers would be hugely comfortable with this method of car buying. I'd happily be challenged but I'd prefer, even in this increasingly digital age, to go into a dealership and see a car, not have to trek off to a bloomin shopping centre to sit in one. I can see how it might appeal to those living very inner-city lives, though.