Pre-owned Cars/Bike

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India could start a new brand to sell pre-owned cars under its existing dealership tie-ups this year.

“As an organisation we are actively looking at this proposition and this is high on our priority list,” said Debashis Mitra, director, sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India (MBI). He added that in India the used car market is not a very organised one, and cars are usually sold through dealer driven initiatives.

Currently, Mercedes-Benz India is working on ramping up the existing dealer network that includes 13 dealers having outlets at 25 locations. “The existing partners are in the process of investing around Rs. 150 crore to upgrade facilities, add new space to the dealerships. Around Rs. 45 crore has already been invested and the remaining would be spent within this year,” Mitra said. Part of this Rs. 150 crore upgradation plan would be spent on developing these new spaces that will house the used Mercedes section at existing dealerships.

“The demand for used cars is steadily growing, especially from customers who want to own a Mercedes but are uncomfortable with the price tag and already own a premium sedan,” said Hiteshwar Singh, chief executive officer, Interkrafts, the only MBI dealership in eastern India. Mercedes has sold around 17,000 cars in the country since its entry in 1995. Currently, around 25,000 Mercedes cars ply on the Indian roads that includes cars that were shipped from abroad, informed company officials.

The luxury car segment had clocked a 76 per cent growth in 2008, and Mercedes registered a 46 per cent growth in luxury car sales last year selling 3,600 cars. It has already sold around 400 cars in the first two months of this year, with February sales showing a 13 per cent year-on-year growth.

With the launch of the new M-Class sports utility vehicle(SUV) this month, the company aims to sell double the number of units sold last year, that is 82. While the car has been upgraded, there has been no price revisions. The petrol variant will cost Rs. 53.77 lakh, ex-showroom in Kolkata and the diesel variant would cost around Rs. 54 lakh.

The company’s new manufacturing plant at Chakan near Pune can manufacture around 5,000 passenger cars and 1,200 commercial vehicles per annum in single shift operations.

Source: Business Standard

Mercedes-Benz India is entering the used car space and is also looking to launch long dstance inter-city buses to take on the likes of Volvo.

“The used car segment is not organised in India. Currently, dealers out of their own interest sell used Mercedes vehicles. As an organisation Mercedes, has globally started the business actively under which we have a standard global used car programme. As part of global programme, it will also be launched in India soon,” said Debasish Mitra, head of marketing and sales, Mercedes-Benz India.

“Mercedes-Benz India has sold about 17,000 cars from the time it set up shop in India. However, estimates are that nearly 25,000 cars have been bought till date in India, as close to 8000 cars were imported into India before Mercedes-Benz set up shop,” said Mr Manas Dewan, general manager, corporate communications at Mercedes-Benz India. Mr Dewan was also in town to launch the M-Class.

“We are working to launch the used car programme in India. It will be launched by December 2009,” said Mr Mitra.

On launching inter-city buses, Mr Dewan said: “Mercedes-Benz India has launched buses suited for intra-city services, by way of Mercedes-Benz intra-city luxury coaches. We are doing a market survey on the demand for such buses. This will be followed by designing buses for Indian road conditions. The idea is to transport passengers to another city so that they arrive there fresh, with minimal exhaustion.”

Speaking on dealer networks, Mr Mitra said: “The dealers have committed a total investment of Rs 150 crore to ramp up infrastructure in 2009. Despite a sagging economy, the luxury car segment in India did not suffer much. However, finance have been a problem and that has affected sales to an extent.”

Source: Economic Times

General Motors (GM) India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based General Motors Corporation, is all set to enter the Rs. 300 billion used car market. The used-car retail initiative is named as Chevy Ok, will be rolled out in all the metros and “B Class” cities in five weeks, the company said.

Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India, said the pilot project was launched in New Delhi a few weeks back. “The project was successful and now the company is planning to launch the business across the country,” he said.

To start with, the company will set up Chery Ok through its 10 dealers. This would be gradually increased. P Balendran, vice-president (corporate affairs), GM India, added that by the end of this year, the number of outlets will be increased to 25. The outlets would sell only GM vehicles and each of those will go through 114 checks, Balendran said, adding the customer would get guarantee up to six months.

The B Class cities where the company would set up the outlets include Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Lucknow. “Going forward, the company would tap the tier-II and III cities,” he added. “The Chery Ok concept would bring in additional revenue for the dealers, while for the company it would increase the volumes,” according to Balendran.

The company will be the latest entrant to the space after Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti among others. The used car market in India is fragmented, with more than 80 per cent of it controlled by the unorganised segment. The market is expected to grow at 12-15 per cent in the next five years to touch a robust 2.5 million units and a turnover of Rs. 50,000 crore.

The current slowdown has opened doors for used car business, says Balendran. “This would be the right time to enter into the business since the customer has experienced the credit crunch. A segment of those customers have traded their requirements down. And those who have traded their requirements down, still end up buying a used car.”

Speaking about the sales-point expansion, Balendran said currently the company has 195 check points and 198 authorised services across the country. By the end of this year, the company wants to make it 250 each.

GM India sells cars like the Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet U-VA, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Optra, Optra Magnum, Chevrolet Tavera and the Chevrolet Captiva

Source: Business Standard