Audi customers will get a taste of virtual reality as the company’s dealerships begin rolling out VR headsets to its showrooms.
With the headset, a customer is able to experience an Audi model in 360 degrees and can even move around the car, examining it both from the outside and inside the cabin.
Acting as a complex configurator, the virtual reality software allows users to cycle between different paint colors, wheels and even interior and exterior options. What’s more, a car can be viewed in a number of different light conditions and locations, such as in Paris and for those so-inclined, even on the moon.
According to Marcus Kühne from Audi’s digital retail solutions division, “Our challenge is that our customers often only come to a dealership to talk about the price. They already know everything there is to know about their chosen car from internet research. But we would like to engage them and give them a better time at the dealership.
“We’d like them to have a consultation about the car rather than look on the internet. The VR technology could do this: it is invasive, emotional and unexpected,” he said.
Autocar says Audi is trailing the system in six of its German dealerships and is still yet to decide between the two virtual reality headsets it is testing, the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift.
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