Insight
Many young people in Japan are not interested in owning a car.
Volvo created a studio in Tokyo’s fashionable Aoyama district to introduce its sustainable mobility and modern Swedish culture to a younger generation who are less interested in vehicle specifications. The studio experience, designed with an accompanying app, promotes exploration of the physical space.
Idea
Bring the space to life.
AR experiences throughout the studio are activated by scanning markers, triggering playful interactions and immersive video. Virtual Northern lights fill the space above, scattering trivia and providing information about Volvo’s sustainable mobility.
Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics harmonise in an interactive floating zen garden, evoking the simplicity of EV driving. Visitors encounter modern Sweden in a narrated virtual drive across Stockholm, where they can book a physical test drive via the app. Swedish coffee culture is given an outdoor twist as visitors gather around a tabletop camping scene in the AR-enhanced Fika Café.
Impact
Within the first six months, visitor numbers and test drives doubled.
Since opening, Volvo Studio Tokyo has attracted a younger audience than Volvo has engaged with locally, and feedback has been positive.
