While Japanese car manufacturers are reaching new heights of success in overseas markets, sales in Japan continue to drop. According to data the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, slightly less than 3.5 million new vehicles were sold in 2007, a decrease of 7.6% and a record low since 1972.

The main culprits behind this trend are male consumers in their 20s, who appear to have lost interest in cars and no longer feel a need to own one – according to a survey from 2005, the number of men in the 20-25 age group who do not own a car has reached 32.1 percent, a drastic increase from 21.3 percent in 2001.

So how do you get this demographic to buy cars? Toyota has figured that the first step is to get these consumers to visit an actual dealership, and come up with an interesting concept to achieve this aim. In December 2007, the company opened Tressa Yokohama, a six-floor shopping center that integrates Toyota dealerships into a regular shopping center.

The interior is held in the style of a town in Southern France, complete with old-fashioned storefronts, restaurants and even a town square. Numerous Toyota dealerships – offering the full range of Toyota cars from luxury cars to mini vehicles – have been carefully integrated in this townscape, with models on display are often casually parked in the street or main square.

To attract young shoppers who are not that interested in cars, Tressa Yokohama provides a retail offering that puts the complex on par with other shopping centers. Fashion brands include Uniqlo, Takeo Kikuchi, Lacoste and even Karl Kani, alongside stores offering outdoor equipment, sportswear and musical instruments. The second part of the building, which will feature an even more impressive retail line-up, is set to open in March 2008.

automobiles, retail