BackMaruti plans to push more digitalisation in used car business
Maruti will encourage customers to use its digital platforms to shortlist, book the vehicle and submit related documentsThe company will also facilitate home delivery and servicing of pre-owned after purchase
PremiumMaruti Suzuki India Ltd on Tuesday introduced standard operating procedures for its outlets selling pre-owned cars. The country’s largest carmaker expects a rise in demand for used cars in the aftermath of coronavirus. At present, the company has 570 outlets for pre-owned cars known as True Value, spread across 280 towns and cities in the country.
The company will encourage customers to use its digital platforms to shortlist, book the vehicle and submit related documents. This will significantly reduce the need for a potential customer to visit the showrooms.
Maruti will also facilitate home delivery and servicing of pre-owned after purchase. Such services were only provided to new car buyers till now.
To avoid physical contact, customers are being encouraged to adopt all digital means such as e-mails, phone, video calls, use of True Value website and a dedicated mobile application to search and shortlist their preferred pre-owned cars, the company said in a statement.
Maruti has also instructed the dealers to sanitise their showrooms and stockyard premises at regular intervals to maintain hygiene and safety for staff and customers alike.
According to Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and chief executive, Maruti Suzuki, from showroom walk-in to delivery of car, the company is fully committed to offer a safe and hygienic experience.
“We have put in place steps to ensure complete safety, hygiene and sanitization of all customer touchpoints. With 376-check-point evaluation, refurbishment and certification processes, True Value is country’s most trusted pre-owned car retail channel. I assure our customers that their car buying experience at True Value is completely safe," added Ayukawa.
With drastic fall in affordability of customers, industry experts are expecting sales of used cars to pick up once the pandemic is over as users might prefer private transport for safety and hygiene related issues.
“Our share in the organized market of used cars is almost close to 60% but then we would like to expand this organized market because today it’s about just 18-20% of the total used car market. There will be a transfer of demand to used cars, but there will be a transfer of demand from used cars to maybe two-wheelers for example," said Shashank Srivastava, executive director sales and marketing, Maruti Suzuki, in an interview to Mint recently.
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