Dubai: For Al Futtaim Motors, turning 60 is not a moment to ease up on the throttle. If anything the dealership — as much a brand on its own as the marque it represents, Toyota — is putting on a fresh set of wheels for another spin at something it does well — sell cars.
It will mean the launch of what will be one of the most strikingly designed showrooms in the UAE, a marketplace which already has a high quotient of such signature properties. The upcoming facility — located in Abu Dhabi’s Mussaffah area — takes the form of a cresting wave at one end of its four-storey structure. Apart from showcasing all of the new Toyota models, it will also have a dedicated service area seamlessly blended into the property, which is set for opening later this year. Value of the investments was not revealed.
“The mandate was to create something more than a showroom and more of a ‘customer experience centre’,” said Jon Williams, Managing Director at AFM. “Much of the same will be duly replicated at all of our biggest sites, while the smaller properties will have elements of the new design DNA.”
A facility — featuring both Toyota and Lexus — will open in Madinat Zayed and AFM’s first representation in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region. In Dubai’s DIFC cluster, the ‘Intersect by Lexus’ — styled as a boutique where visitors can experience newfangled technologies the premium brand deploys on its models — is to open in the second half of the year. This will be the first such outside of Tokyo.
Williams dismisses suggestions that there is little room left for AFM to grow at a speed it had been used to in previous decades. Toyota has retained a firm grip as the UAE’s best-selling automotive brand year in and year out.
In fact, well over a million Toyota models have been bought in the UAE since AFM opened for business in 1955. This has been built on the enduring support for the various generations of the Lancruiser, Camry and Corolla, each of whom are market leaders in their categories.
“I don’t think the UAE auto sales market has reached a level where it has failed to grow ... and in any growing market,” said Williams. “AFM will be in a position to constantly aim for a greater share of the market. That’s also the way to maximise opportunities for the models in the showrooms.
“All of us in the industry realise that car owners have become more demanding in the way they interact with dealerships. And as a dealer, there’s no way you should remain constrained in your thinking and operations.
“Things have changed ... and we are changing with them.”
Williams declined to reveal the model launch schedules this year. But he reckons that there will be opportunities for hybrid versions “in high enough volumes” at some point.
“There are changes taking place in the region that will have an impact on the automotive industry — Saudi Arabia has plans to introduce CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) from January 1, 2016,” said Williams. CAFE relates to benchmarks determining fuel efficiency in vehicles. It was first enacted in the US in 1975.
“It’s only a matter of time before that gets applied elsewhere in the Gulf. This will then have a bearing on powertrains built for future models introduced in our markets. Things are not going to remain as they are.”
