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Peugeot has taken the concept of smaller dealership facilities to new levels by adapting a traditional red telephone box into a 0.8 square-metre ‘showroom’ in London’s Russell Square.

The iconic phone box aims to dial-in to consumer’s desire to research their car purchase online by giving visitors the opportunity to access a fully connected online showroom using Peugeot’s unique e-commerce system, 'Order Online'.

Customers can gain access to the diminutive dealership by getting a special code via the Peugeot website before connecting to the e-commerce portal a tablet device which will allow them to browse, configure, finance and ultimately order a new car.

Dubbed Peugeot Russell Square, the innovative retail space is open between 7am and midnight every day until the end of this month.

Peugeot Managing Director, David Peel, said: “The World’s Smallest Dealership is a perfect example of how technology continues to change the way we research, view and purchase products.

“Not that many years ago, the process of buying a new car involved reading lots of printed literature and trawling around dealerships. Now, despite a car being the second-largest purchase most people make in a lifetime, it can be done from anywhere – even from inside a phone box.”

Peugeot’s ‘Order Online’ e-commerce site was launch4ed in January this year – within a week of similar propositions from Hyundai and Smart – and claimed to be the first by a major car brand that allows customers to complete the entire process of buying a new car from start to finish.

Each user can create any number of different vehicle configurations, using all of Peugeot’s model range and option choices, before either continuing to order or saving their profile and returning later after consideration.

The first order was placed on the website within 12 hours of the system being launched.

Since then, Peugeot claims that it has hosted nearly a million users who – during 1.5 million sessions – have completed more than 134,000 vehicle configurations and received more than 35,000 part exchange valuations.

Thursday afternoons are the most popular time for ordering a car, according to the data provided by the site, while Peugeot’s 208 supermini is the car most ordered, accounting for two in every five cars bought on ‘Order Online’.

Peel said: “We recognise that the retail landscape is ever-changing and consumers like to have the freedom and flexibility that comes with browsing online, without the pressure of having to negotiate or make snap decisions.

“Order Online puts our customers firmly in the driving seat, allowing them to chop and change what they want and make a decision in their own time, in their own space.”