Borneo Motors reopens fully renovated Toyota showroom

After months of renovations that were carried out in stages, Borneo Motors has today officially reopened the Toyota showroom and service centre to great fanfare.

A brighter, airier experience is what customers can expect, along with an integrated digital online and in-store experience. Borneo Motors calls it the "phygital customer journey", but it's really just a fancy name for a sales process that can start online and be completed in the showroom. 

Ng Khee Siong, interim managing director of Inchcape Singapore, which manages Borneo Motors, explains, "Our goal is to make the car purchase experience more convenient and seamless across all touchpoints. The great Singaporean dream for many people is the experience of owning a car, and we know that these days, cars don't come cheap so we are in the business of adding value to the ownership experience from the initial browsing through to the servicing of the vehicle."

He observes that the invisible wall between the purchasing section and the servicing department has all but vanished in recent years, with many customers walking through and taking an interest in how the dealership's servicing centre is able to maintain their cars through its lifespan before they commit to buying a new car. This was an added incentive for the makeover, to ensure that Toyota keep pace with customer expectations, and for Borneo Motors to stay ahead of the game in automotive retail.

At the new Toyota showroom, buzzwords abound, with the retail website becoming the Digital Experience Platform (DXP), which itself is part of Toyota's Omnichannel experience.

The showroom also incorporates the revamped Toyota GR Garage, a specialised space for the brand's sports cars which at this point are the GR 86 and GR Supra. The official GR sports range in Singapore also included the GR Yaris not too long ago, but it was here only in limited numbers and sold out almost immediately. 

For everyone else shopping for a small family car like the Yaris Cross Hybrid, to the luxurious Alphard Hybrid MPV however, your buying journey doesn't have to start at the showroom. The DXP allows you to choose and specify your vehicle of choice online, and also communicate directly with your sales advisor. Further discussions and viewing can then take place on the showroom floor, for that tactile selection and customising of your new car to your exact specifications.

A new Smart Q system has been implemented for service appointments. Drivers can now manage their servicing schedules and even request for a quotation on body work through  the Toyota Always app and website as well. Borneo Motors claims that this has cut down the onsite waiting times by around 30 per cent.

What's next after this? Managing director Ng revealed that there is a plan in motion, and that the Lexus showroom in the other wing of the complex is next in line for a makeover. Meanwhile, Borneo Motors is hard at work in ensuring that the brand stays in the top three best-selling car brands of Singapore

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This article was first published in CarBuyer.