Mahindra First Choice Wheels (MFCW), the multi-brand certified used car company, has launched its ‘Edition’ brand, claimed to be the first premium used cars franchise network in India. The first store was inaugurated in Juhu, Mumbai with Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Jaguar cars showcased.
Commenting on the launch of ‘Edition’, Rajeev Dubey, group president (HR & Corporate Services) and CEO (After Market sector), member of the Group executive board, Mahindra Group, said, “Aspirational buyers with rising disposable incomes are increasingly looking to upgrade to premium car brands. ‘Edition’ offers them a unique opportunity to acquire their favourite car brand at a much more accessible price.”
According to Ashutosh Pandey, CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels, “Edition will help to drive our future growth by expanding our product portfolio and giving us access to an entirely new customer segment. We are expecting to open 5-6 more outlets in this quarter and are going to retail around 10-12 cars a month per outlet.”
He further added, “The used car volume is expected to grow at 15 percent CAGR, from 3.3 million to 7.4 million units by FY2022. Currently, the organised sector comprises of 15 percent while the semi-organised sector comprises of 36 percent of the domestic used car market. With a rising demand from tier 2 and 3 cities, the organised sector for the used cars is expected to grow up to 35 percent by 2022. We see a $7 billion (Rs 50,789 crore) opportunity by FY2023.”
MFCW claims that they are the leaders in the online auction space, that their annual GMV (gross merchandise value) is $1 billion (Rs 7,268 crore and that 1.5 million inspections were conducted in the previous year. During a press interaction, Ashutosh revealed that they sold 2,40,000 cars in the previous year and 1,60,000 cars in the year before. The brand hopes to cross 3,00,000 units this year, with the management confident of breaking even this year after two years of reporting loss on the back of an investment spree.
MFCW has over 1,200 outlets across more than 500 cities and through the 118-point quality inspection and refurbishment process, the company looks to extend its leadership in the Indian used car market. The company had raised Rs 1,674 crore funding from Silicon Valley-based hedge fund, Valiant Capital and Cox Automotive. The brand aims to hit 5,000 functional franchisees in India in the next five years.
UJAL NAIR