In line with its goal to set up 200 outlets of its ‘Best Deal’ pre-owned two-wheeler business, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today inaugurated its 150th outlet at Aadhi Honda, Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu.
HMSI, which pioneered the concept of certified pre-owned outlets in the Indian two-wheeler industry, has seen the initiative tap into the huge potential that the pre-owned two-wheeler market offers in the country. From November 2017 onwards, when the two-wheeler industry faced challenges like demonetisation and later the transition from BS-III to BS-IV emission norms, which led to single-digit growth, there was a significant boost in demand for pre-owned two-wheelers.
In 2016-17, sales of Honda’s Best Deal business rose 23 percent, which is three times that of the new two-wheeler industry growth of seven percent. To accelerate growth in this business division, HMSI went about rapidly expanding the Best Deal network which grew by 44 percent to 147 outlets in the last fiscal.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 150th Best Deal outlet in Coimbatore, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president - Sales & Marketing, HMSI, said, “Our experience shows that the pre-owned industry is evolving at a very fast pace and the replacement cycle for two-wheeler has come down to 4-5 years. Honda sees good future potential in the pre-owned two-wheeler business and has advanced its expansion horizon to 200 Best Deal Outlets by the end of this fiscal itself.”
Organised platform in a highly fragmented market
HMSI’s Best Deal, which is the first retail setup by a two-wheeler manufacturer in India in the highly fragmented and unorganised pre-owned market, now covers 117 cities across 21 states of India. The business offers an organised platform to the earlier untapped category of those two-wheeler customers who want to exchange their existing vehicle of any make for a brand new Honda two-wheeler, and those who want to buy a refurbished and certified pre-owned Honda two-wheeler and seek the best deal in the used two-wheeler market.
For two-wheeler owners, the biggest advantage over the unorganised platform is the peace of mind as every purchase comes with two free services, six-month warranty and genuine aftersales support. The seller also receives the best price for his/her two-wheeler. Also, the Honda Best Deal outlet verifies the owner's documents and assures a hassle-free and timely ownership transfer to the new customer.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
