Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd., a multi-brand pre-owned car company, is hoping to emerge as a name to reckon with in the after market segment.
Indicating this at an informal interaction with presspersons here on Thursday, Rajeev Dubey, President (HR, After-Market and Corporate Services) and Member of Mahindra Group Management Board, said the pre-owned car market was poised for an exponential growth. The entry of Mahindra into the market would give it the first-mover advantage, he added. The company, he said, was keen to professionally organise the pre-owned car industry in the country and bring about transparency, trust and peace of mind to consumers of second-hand car buyers by offering them choice.
Mahindra First Choice Wheels has 114 outlets - comprising super stores and smaller format outlets. Out of which, six (two super stores and four smaller ones) are company-owned outlets. The company would increase the number of outlets to 230 by March 2011 and to over 300 by March 2012, Mr. Dubey said. During 2008-09, sales of pre-owned vehicles were around 10,255. This year, this number would be in excess of 18,000, according to Shubhabrata Saha, Chief Executive Officer of the company. He estimated sales to double next year and reach one lakh vehicles by 2015.
Mr. Saha said 90 per cent of the pre-owned cars sales happened in the unorganised sector. Out of which, 60 per cent was in the C to C (consumer to consumer) segment and 30 per cent through brokerage, leaving only a miniscule portion to the organised sector. The Chief Executive Officer said, Mahindra First Choice Wheels would focus its attention on building a right business eco system for pre-owned car industry by putting in place the processes, training people and building business intelligence through the information technology. Asserting that residual value pricing of any old vehicle was tough, he said Mahindra First Choice Wheels would bring out a transparent scientific pricing mechanism.
To a question, Mr. Dubey said, “We will take it up with appropriate forum” the issue differential taxes levied by different States on sale of pre-owned vehicles. In this context, he said Punjab had not tax whereas Uttar Pradesh levied a 4.5 per cent tax on the invoice value.
