Car firm Volvo is to open a temporary "pop-up" shop in Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin next month. It marks a growing trend among car makers to reach out to consumers who are not visiting the large suburban dealerships, despite the millions spent on large glass-fronted showrooms on the outskirts of many towns.

Volvo is investing €100,000 in the Dundrum project, which will be open from Thursday, June 1st until July 2nd. The store is located on the second floor, opposite Karen Millen and near House of Fraser.

The move by car firms to open stores in shopping centres was made popular by Tesla, which initially opted to forgo traditional car dealerships, usually in the suburbs, for main street stores. In the early 2000s car firms encouraged dealers to move out of confined town centre locations to greenfield sites where large bespoke premises were built. However, the new locations miss out on a lot of the passing footfall you get in a town centre.

According to David Thomas, Managing Director at Volvo Car Ireland: "We hope to reach a new demographic of shoppers who may not have been overly familiar with the Volvo brand and what it stands for before. Customers can explore our stylish new XC60, S90 and V40 models in a relaxed, Scandinavian inspired environment, which reflects the design of our products and gives visitors a sense of the Volvo car brand."