Toyota shopping mall opens in Japan

In what may lead to a new trend among carmakers, the cash-rich ones at least, Toyota has opened a new shopping mall aimed at selling and promoting its cars. The new site is located in Yokohama, Japan, and features the usual assortment of restaurants and specialty stores you would find in any shopping mall. One key difference, however, is the display vehicles and dealers that litter the mall’s corridors.

The mall is completely owned and operated by Toyota and only opened its doors last week. The move is part of the carmaker’s efforts to boost sales and capture the attention of Japanese buyers, who lately have been flocking to foreign makes in droves.

New car sales in Japan have also dropped to a 27-year-low of 5.3 million vehicles, reports the Associated Press, down 0.6% from the previous year. Carmakers in Japan are finding that regular TV advertising and selling cars through showrooms is having little effect on the youth.

A recent study run by The Nikkei found that many Japanese people aged in their 20s didn’t want a car, even if it were free, and many didn’t find the idea of going for a drive with a date or cruising in a sports car very appealing.

Toyota may be onto a good thing with its latest venture. Shopping malls are usually a haven for young people, and this is the key demographic officials are hoping to influence.