Autobahn Alley on Manhattan’s 11th Avenue between 48th and 58th Street is thriving while similar stretches in major US cities like Boston and Minnesota have floundered in recent years, according to a recent US media report.

It points to the growing strength of the importers and their need for suitable venues to display product in a continuing tough US vehicle market.

Referring to Autobahn Alley, the New York Times says: “In what real estate brokers and auto industry executives are calling the biggest burst of activity in more than a decade, several auto brands are expanding or relocating along the corridor, with a planned Mercedes-Benz flagship on 54th Street the most recent example”.

The 100,584 sqm five-storey Mercedes dealership – the only US dealership directly owned by Mercedes -- will have glass on three sides, a waiting room with Wi-Fi, a coffee and pastry bar, and a garage with 72 work bays. It is due to open early next year.

Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan began its search for a flagship site about six years ago. The dealership’s president Alan McLaren says: “New York is one of our most critical markets in the country. The dealership is consistently one of our top five dealerships in the country, and if ever there’s a place where you need to get it right, it’s right here, where the performance standards are arguably set higher than anywhere else in the United States.”

Also in Autobahn Alley, Volkswagen and Audi are spending about $125 million on new facilities, including 80,772 sqm of showrooms, on a site previously owned by Potamkin General Motors. It followed a two-year search by VW and was fuelled by New York’s thirst for luxury brands, according to the real estate agent.

Infiniti of Manhattan is seeking a new home in Autobahn Alley because a residential project is replacing its current location. And, fresh from bankruptcy and under Fiat control, Chrysler is said to be looking at expansion there.

Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, a trade group that represents about 425 dealerships in nine counties across New York State, says: “As far as development goes, this is easily the most activity we’ve seen there in years. There’s been just an extraordinary amount of activity that’s been going on over there.”

New York Times says: “The surge of activity on 11th Avenue is in sharp contrast to other areas of the country, where approximately 1900 dealerships have closed since 2009, said Paul Taylor, the chief economist at the National Automobile Dealers Association in Virginia. Mr Schienberg said that in New York’s five boroughs, only 15 dealerships had shuttered in the last 10 years.

“The stability in New York, Mr Taylor said, can be attributed in part to 11th Avenue’s proximity to Wall Street and the financial markets, as well as the sheer number of drivers in the city. While dealerships in other areas of the country are suffering from a slump in auto sales and a move toward consolidating multiple brands under a single roof, both luxury brands and mainstream ones like Toyota and Ford are thriving on 11th Avenue.

“’The trend toward dealerships opening in Manhattan is driven in part by its province in the financial markets worldwide,’ said Mr Taylor. ‘Luxury brands are typically sold to households with significant incomes and large holdings of security outside of retirement programs. And, of course, many of those households have jobs in Manhattan.’”