Aston Martin continues its ultra-luxury retail strategy and investment in customer experience with the opening of a new landmark location in one of the most sophisticated luxury capitals of the world, Tokyo.

Following on from the opening of the brand’s first global flagship location, Q New York, in 2023, Aston Martin today opens the doors to Aston Martin Ginza, a new state-of-the-art showroom within the prestigious luxury hotel, The Peninsula Tokyo. 

The first showroom in Asia to fully embrace the ultra-luxury brand’s refreshed corporate identity, the new two-storey landmark location boasts an impressive area of 324 square metres.

This accommodates the display of three iconic Aston Martin models, a large digital media wall and a stunning customer lounge, allowing clients to create their own intimately personal Aston Martin.

Forming part of Aston Martin’s continued expansion in Japan, the ultra-luxury showroom seeks to capitalise on growing retail demand for Aston Martin in recent years, helped by the strong local appetite for the supercar of SUV’s, DBX707 and excitement for Aston Martin’s next generation of sports cars, including the multi-award-winning DB12 and new Vantage. 

Marco Mattiacci, Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of Aston Martin, said, “Tokyo is one of the most important centres of luxury in the world. Having been the number one city location for new Aston Martin sales in 2023, we are delighted to double our retail presence with this stunning new landmark showroom in the five-star hotel, The Peninsula Tokyo.”

“Reminiscent of our first global flagship location in New York City, the state-of-the-art showroom highlights the investment being made in our ultra-luxury retail and customer experience strategy, with further flagship locations and landmark showrooms planned across our retail network.”

“With two fantastic locations and some of our strongest market penetration within the luxury segment, Tokyo holds huge growth potential for Aston Martin. With a goal to provide the highest levels of customer experience available in the luxury segment, we are on a mission to share our passion for the Aston Martin brand with the people of Japan.”

“Helped by the introduction of amazing, market-leading products, we see huge potential for Aston Martin to build on its existing loyal customer base in Japan. We are excited by the opportunities for Aston Martin Ginza, which is located at the centre of one of the key luxury destinations within Tokyo,” said Ken Arai, Company President of GRAZ Automotive Holdings which will operate Aston Martin Ginza.

“Putting the customer at the heart of our dealership experience, we look forward to providing a warm welcome to Aston Martin Ginza.”

Recognising the growing trend of personalisation across the luxury segment and building on the success of Q New York, the Aston Martin Ginza brings the pinnacle of the Q by Aston Martin bespoke service to Japan, providing a sanctuary for clients in Tokyo to create their own intimately personal Aston Martin. 

In 2023, Q by Aston Martin achieved unparalleled success, experiencing a 36% global growth year-on-year. Capitalising on the prevailing trend of personalisation within the realm of luxury goods, the growth of Aston Martin’s bespoke service has been further propelled by the introduction of exclusive limited-edition products, such as the iconic DBR22, the awe-inspiring DBS770 Ultimate, and the extraordinary Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valour. 

Ginza, one of the most popular commercial districts in Tokyo, is not only home to many major commercial facilities and flagship stores of luxury brands, but it is also one of Tokyo’s richest historical neighbourhoods, comprised of many successful multi-generational businesses and the world-famous Kabuki Theatre.

The Peninsula Tokyo, which faces the Imperial Palace and Hibiya Park from its prestigious location in the Marunouchi area, immediately adjacent to the entrance to Ginza, has for nine consecutive years received the highest five-star rating in the hotel category from the Forbes Travel Guide.

Mark J. Choon, Managing Director of The Peninsula Tokyo, added: “We are privileged to welcome the ultra-luxury British brand, Aston Martin, to the Peninsula Tokyo in Ginza, and to be part of a captivating blend of Japanese tradition and modernity. We look forward to welcoming Aston Martin’s owners with our legendary Peninsula Hospitality.”

Photo Credits: Aston Martin

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Porsche Singapore, the new venture between Porsche Asia Pacific and Eurokars Group, was formed in 2022 with the aim of elevating customer experiences in Singapore. Today, the iconic German sports car manufacturer proudly delivers on this promise, as it opens its doors to its brand-new Porsche Studio Singapore, and we were there to check it out.

The new 8,500 square feet two-storey showroom is located at Guoco Midtown at 130 Beach Road. Walking in through the doors, one first notices the sparkling silver 356 parked next to Cafe Carrera by Baker & Cook.

The space is expansive and offers a warm and inviting ambience for one to partake in the Porsche experience or whilst personalising and booking one’s next sports car or SUV from the Stuttgart brand.

In the middle of the first floor, one will likely find a caged Porsche. Today, it was the Cayman GT4 RS. This is actually the built-in car hoist for moving cars around the Studio, which is another unique concept in the Porsche world.

Hold off on the temptation to go upstairs for awhile, and instead, head around to the back of the ‘cage.’

Here, you’ll find the exclusive Porsche ‘Prototyp’ collection showcase, which is inspired by the “Active Camouflage” wraps of prototype test vehicles.

This new retail concept is also the first of its kind in the Porsche world. Pick something up from this collection if it catches your fancy.

Now let’s proceed upstairs. The first item of note, in our case, was the Taycan Cross Turismo in “Taycan Record Run” colours within the ‘caged’ car hoist, complete with Tag Heuer “lap timer” above the ‘cage.’

The eyes then naturally went to the multi-coloured 911 front and centre of the second floor, showcasing a selection of colours with which one’s next sports car could be painted.

Behind the wall of flat screens at one end of the Studio sat a Cayenne surrounded by Porsche accoutrements and a small sitting area where one could sip coffee and watch the world go by with Curves in hand.

On the opposite side of the second floor is a library chock full of Porsche literature and paraphernalia to get one’s heart suitably thumping. Also nearby is a simulator where one can elevate one’s heart rate yet again by racing against the clock to test their mettle.

Mosey on through the rest of the second floor where another Carrera cafe is situated, and other accessories are neatly arranged for one’s viewing pleasure.

Interestingly, given its modular design, this floor can also be reconfigured to accommodate a diverse range of activities such as zen-filled yoga classes to high-energy product trainings and presentations, captivating keynote speeches in front of full-length LED walls and heart-pounding e-sports races held using two in-house state-of-the-art simulators.

The space can also be transformed into a catwalk for a fashion show extravaganza. Imagine passers-by below stopping to gawk at the events going on above!

Outside, community spaces such as the Plaza and special event spaces at Midtown Square provide the perfect setting for community gatherings such as Cars & Coffee.

Already in the works is the Porsche Studio Singapore weekly get-together, “Porsches & Pretzels,” an open invite to the local community to share passion for Porsche and foster connections among enthusiasts.

Head on down to Porsche Studio Singapore to indulge in its ambience and experience it for yourself. It’s open Monday to Sunday from 10AM to 8PM.

Photo Credits: Porsche & Sean Loo (@auto.driven)

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The opening of Inchcape Singapore’s fully-renovated Toyota showroom and service centre at 33 Leng Kee Road also saw the introduction of Omnichannel, a customer platform that allows Toyota’s potential customers to configure and order their new cars online, or at the showroom, or a combination of both. One can call it a holistic and seamless end-to-end phy-gital customer journey.

“Our Omnichannel platform together with the all-new Toyota Showroom exemplifies our commitment to going the extra mile for our valued customers,” said Ng Khee Siong, Interim Managing Director of Inchcape Singapore.

“Our goal is to make the car purchase experience more convenient and seamless across all touchpoints, such as physical showrooms, websites, mobile apps, social media, and more. We aim to deliver excellent services, comprehensive support and better engagement for our customers throughout the journey from vehicle selection, purchase, personalised onboarding, trade-in and aftersales care.”

In essence, customers can build their dream car using the “Build and Price Configurator”, personalizing such items as body colour, interior and accessories. They can even gain insights into financing and insurance coverage during this process. Having saved their configuration online in their “My Account”, customers can then conclude their purchases together with their Toyota sales consultants either online or in the showroom with seamless viewing of physical colour plates and seat fabrics per customers’ saved choices.

The journey doesn’t end there. Toyota Always app and website would be used to book service appointments, purchase service packages or any other required aftersales support.

A newly introduced SMART Q system can recognise customers based on their license plates and send queue tickets via automated SMS as they drive in for their service appointments. This system is said to be able to improve waiting times by up to 30 per cent.

Intrigued? Why not check out the process for yourself? Start with the Build and Price Configurator, create your very own “My Account” and check out the showroom thereafter.

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