Innovative showrooms like this may not be enough to save the Japanese automobile industry.
Japanese auto sales are at a record low, falling 22 percent in December compared to the same month the previous year, giving a dark end to 2008, the worst year for car sales in 34 years. Japanese are increasingly urbanizing, with trains and subways being the preferred mode of transport.
However bleak things may look, some companies are responding with innovative new services. An increasing number of condominums are offering car sharing services. Residents register for the service, and then book a car for one day in advance, make a reservation for as short as a 30-minute block of time. Orix Auto, which operates the service, provides a number of compact cars to a housing complex, charges a monthly fee or around 3,000 yen ($30) and a minimal fee each time the car is used. Given the high prices or maintaining a car and a parking spot in Tokyo, the system can mean a savings of hundreds of dollars per month for someone who only drives occasionally.
Similarly, companies that rent cars and motorbikes have begun offering rentals for as little as one hour, for rates lower than a short taxi ride.