With over 70,000 vehicles sold in the UK last year, Toyota is one of the most popular car manufacturers in the country.
To create a customer experience that matches the visitor expectation for a brand such as Toyota, a professional, contemporary lighting design was specified for the new showroom in Darlington.
Tamlite supplied the RMB Toyota showroom with lighting solutions designed to provide the perfect showroom environment. This meant lighting that shows the cars in the best possible light. In a space such as a showroom, enhancing the visual appearance of the building and products is paramount. The lighting needs to display the character of the cars in the most prestige of environments.
Project Requirements
RMB Toyota were clear on what was required from the new lighting system. It needed to provide better aesthetics than the lighting at the previous location, as well as using energy saving LED fittings to reduce costs.
Robert Bennett, RMB Managing Director, said: “We required all round better aesthetics, and wanted the energy savings that LED lighting gave us. We are also conscious of our carbon footprint, so sourcing products from a UK manufacturer made sense.”
Energy efficiency is a key part of Toyota’s brand ethos, with an aim to make a number of manufacturing plants carbon neutral. Robert Bennett said: “As retailers we are still short of the goal of being totally carbon neutral, but the use of only LED fittings gets us closer.”
Style and Substance
Tamlite specified a combination of spotlights and downlights. These enhanced the style of the cars themselves, without detracting from the overall customer experience. High CRI luminaires make coloured cars pop, and white vehicles gleam, catching the customers eye.
In environments like these, customer attention is precious. Being able to direct potential buyers to the highest value products can make a huge difference to display rooms. Spotlights highlight the cars, rather than the space around them, to ensure that no light is wasted.
The fittings are high output luminaires, to really accentuate the vehicles. However, they are also very energy efficient, which is vital for Toyota. Robert Bennett said: “In the previous location, to get the required lux levels we were using metal halides. This were extremely expensive to run.
“We are very happy that the lighting level is to the required standard, without being intrusive. The expert advice in putting the scheme together, as well as the speed of delivery and after sales support has been excellent from Tamlite.”
