Mahindra First Choice Wheels inaugurates India’s largest multi-brand pre-owned vehicle showroom

       The company’s first multi-brand, multi-asset vehicle showroom, represents expansion of the Mahindra First Choice brand into new vehicle segments; also the largest showroom in the country

       The company extended its leadership in F17 in the used car industry with revenuegrowth of 80%; its technology enabled business grew at 200% year over year

       The company now has over 1,255 outlets in nearly 700 towns pan-India; 37 outlets in the NCR

New Delhi, June 2, 2017: Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd. (MFCWL:mahindrafirstchoice.com),India’s No. 1 multi-brand used car products and services company, inaugurated the country’s largest pre-owned vehicle showroom inWazirpur Industrial Area, Ring Road, New Delhi. Spread over an area of nearly. 7000 sq ft., the massive 3-storey, multi brand pre-owned vehicle display showroom will retail passenger cars, commercial vehicles and premium 2 wheelers from the same facility - an industry first. All products retailed from the showroom will offer Mahindra First Choice Wheels Certification and Warranty.  With this addition, the company’s pre-owned portfolio pan-Indianow includes passenger cars, utility vehicles, commercial vehicles, electric vehicles and premium 2-wheelers.

Inaugurating the new outlet, Rajeev Dubey,Group President - HR & Corporate Services and CEO – After - Market Sector, Mahindra Groupsaid, “Over thelast decade, MFCWL has established itself as a leader in the multi-brand used car space. Our market research indicates that the brand translates to other consumer vehicle segments such as electric vehicles and two wheelers as well, where consumers are looking for a strong trusted brand to stand behind their transactions.”

The used car industry is estimated at 3.3 million in F17. With its entry into commercial vehicles (market size ~ 1 million annually) and two-wheelers (market size ~ 12 million annually), MFCWL has expanded its portfolio and addressable market significantly.  “Our mission is to build and connect the used vehicle ecosystem with a  strong trusted brand supported by technology enabled products, services and operations that fundamentally organize, an otherwise largely unorganized industry and move our industry forward,” said Dr. Nagendra (Nagi) Palle, CEO and MD, Mahindra First Choice Wheels. MFCWL now has specific certification and warranty products for each vehicle segment. For two wheelers, the company is initially focused on the premium segment (250 cc and above). The company is planning to expand its two wheeler franchise business to other cities in the coming weeks.

“While the company has been contemplating expansion into two wheelers, the decision was clinched on the basis of interest from several franchisees who see an attractive opportunity in organizing the used two wheeler industry much like we have done in the used car industry,” said Tarun Nagar, Vice President Retail Business, Mahindra First Choice Wheels. “Indraprastha Group has been a pioneer in the automotive retail business and a great partner for MFCWL. We are excited to launch this marquee dealership which includes the first two wheeler outlet for us,” he added.

“Our Indraprastha Group has been in the automotive retail business for over a decade and we have been an MFCWL franchisee for the last two years. I have experienced significant benefit from the MFCWL brand as well as exceptional support from an experienced team on the ground who are committed to our profitability and success. MFCWL is unique in its hybrid model wherein it provides us an online presence but also allows us to enable transactions with a showroom experience. I believe a premium showroom such as this one has the potential to be a landmarkmulti-brand outlet in the NCR region,” said Sanjay Virmani, Dealer Principal, Indraprastha Automobiles.“With this initial success, we are planning to expand our footprint with MFCWL in the coming months,” he added.

The Company extended its leadership position in the used car industry with a strong performance in F17 in all areas of the business. It reported strong growth in its technology enabled businesses that include its auctions (eDiig.com), inspections (Autoinspekt.com) and IndianBlueBook.com. Revenue growth in F17 for the technology enabled businesses was over 200%, enabled by higher customer adoption of its solutions and launch of new products and services. With these technology enabled solutions, MFCWL is focused on enabling its customers (institutional clients, dealers and consumers) to achieve high levels of transparency and efficiency in a sector otherwise largely opaquein nature. MFCWL in F17 was the leading vehicle auctions and inspections services provider in India. IndianBlueBook.com was amongst the Top 5 online automotive portals in the country powered by its industry leading vehicle pricing analytics.

MFCWL ended F17 with 1,220 outlets which represented a network growth of 65% year over year. The company has showrooms of various formats that cater to consumers in large metros as well as in “D category” towns with population under 1.5 lakhs. 60% of MFCWL’s customers are first time buyers of an automobile. In April it added another 35 outlets bringing the total to 1,255 outlets pan-India.

The company’s unique business model has also been acknowledged by external investors. The company has raised funding from Silicon Valley based Hedge Fund, Valiant Capital and Cox Automotive, a $17 Billion US based enterprise providing digital marketing, classifieds, software, wholesale and eCommerce solutions to dealers, consumers, manufacturers and financial institutions. Its brands include Manheim®, Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Dealertrack®, vAuto®, Xtime®.

MFCWL received “National Retailer of the Year” award for 2017 from Franchise India where it competed with franchisors across all retail sectors.

 About Mahindra First Choice Wheels: Mahindra First Choice Wheels is a dominant player in the Indian used vehicle eco system providing products and services to cater to the needs of retail and wholesale customers utilizing its “on-the-ground” and “in-the-cloud” capabilities.

The company’s business model is based on 4 key building blocks:

Vehicle retail – Under the “Mahindra First Choice” brand name the company has created a unique franchisee driven business model and is on a mission to transform the way used vehicles are retailed in the country. The company has a network of 1250 plus outlets spread across nearly 700 cities, which include metros, mini metros and smaller towns. The cumulative retail footprint under the Mahindra First Choice brand is over a million sq feet.(www.mahindrafirstchoice.com)

Vehicle auctions – The company is the market leader in the online auction space, having sold in excess of 3lakh vehicles through the ‘eDiig’ auction platform (www.ediig.com). eDiig is a classic wholesale marketplace where multiple sellers and buyers compete in a transparent online environment. With over 20,000 registered buyers and sellers, eDiig aims to leverage its ‘True time bids’ solution, to seamlessly bridge the requirements of offline and online participants, thus enabling transparency and superior vehicle price discovery. eDiig Auctions take place across 1000 locations in India and over 85000 vehicles were sold through its platform in FY 17. With its mobile auction application eDiig Now, the company will provide buyers on-the-go auction and bidding services. All these have made eDiig, India's most trusted Automobile Exchange Platform.

Vehicle inspections – Autoinspekt is a comprehensive used vehicle inspection and valuation service for lenders, dealers, OEMs and consumers. By combining the use of technology and assurance of physical inspection, Autoinspekt has built capabilities to service inspection and valuation needs across categories and purposes. (www.autoinspekt.com)

Vehicle pricing - Access to used car transactions data across retail and wholesale channels gave the company an opportunity to develop the IndianBlueBook.com, which is also referred to as IBB. Having started out as a used car pricing widget, Indianbluebook.com has transformed into a full-fledged online research platform for customers to buy and sell their car. (www.indianbluebook.com)

About Mahindra : The Mahindra Group is a USD 17.8 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume.  It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defence and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 200,000 people across 100 countries.