Multi Brand Outlets - the Next Megatrend for Car Aficionados in India: Mahindra First Choice Services

MUMBAI, Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The automobile industry has witnessed a massive slowdown over the past couple of quarters. The reason behind the slowdown can be attributed to weak consumer sentiments in both urban and rural areas. As per one of the recent reports the industry has witnessed downward trend in car sales due to low demand, increased insurance cost by 2-5% and revised higher pricing of vehicles. In such a scenario the demand is gradually shifting towards pre-owned cars or maintaining of existing vehicles. Most people prefer to invest in their existing vehicles and maintain it instead of buying a new car. In current scenario, one can foresee more demand for car servicing workshops that offer service support to multiple brands, the Multi-Brand Outlets (MBO). Is the MBO, then, the next multi-million-dollar opportunity for the auto industry and auto entrepreneurs.

This is the sweet spot where Multi Brand Outlets (MBO's) or specialised workshops for all brands under one roof come into the picture. For  those  who own cars of different brands and have to scramble around to various service stations to have their vehicles serviced, MBOs are the answers to their one-stop requirement, offering quality service, on time delivery, quality spares and skilled and trained technicians.

As a car owner, one of the biggest worry would be service and maintenance at the right price, quality spare parts, as well as a service station not far from the place of work or residence. If the car owner gets their car serviced from an MBO, they would pay 20% lesser than what they pay for their OEM. The MBO uses spares from both, OEMs as well as quality substitutes sourced from reputed suppliers.

At present, the car maintenance needs of customers in the country are taken care of by dealer workshops of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) which constitute approximately 32% of the market and Independent Garages (IGs) that have a majority 64% market share. (Data Source- ACMA report on India Automotive Aftermarket study 2016).

To put the numbers in perspective, the car servicing industry in India is growing rapidly with the overall car service market currently valued at Rs. 30,500 crores annually. The total estimated car parc in India is at 31.3 million cars and expected to grow to 44.7 million cars by 2020, with 36% of these vehicles being between 4-8 years old. (Data Source- ACMA report on India Automotive Aftermarket study 2016). These figures itself shows that there is a great potential for entrepreneurs to take up a franchise of multi-brand servicing business.

MBOs currently occupy a minuscule 4% market share — a small, insignificant number one is likely to think. (Data Source- ACMA report on India Automotive Aftermarket study 2016). However, one would be surprised at how fast this trend of MBOs is picking up among top brands such as Mahindra First Choice Services and a few others.

MBOs are now being looked at as the next emerging mega trend of the Indian auto aftermarket because they are perfectly positioned between OEMs who offer quality service albeit at a high cost and IGs who might offer a cheaper service but have unskilled technicians who are not up to date with the latest technology. 

Factors pushing customers towards MBOs

• Servicing of any brand of car
• Quality service through skilled and trained technicians
• Availability of quality spares from reputed suppliers
• On time delivery of the car post repairs
• Repair over replacement

It has been seen that post warranty, the larger share of business for MBOs comes from brands like Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra and Tata.

The Edge over OEMs and IGs

While OEMs offer quality service though at a price and guaranteed original spare parts, they mostly replace defective parts rather than repair them, thus costing a car owner more. This leaves owners reeling from a lack of transparency and convenience. Independent Garages on the other hand offer convenience of access and an informal process but are often characterised by unskilled technicians, a lack of expertise and more often than not, the threat of spurious spare parts usage. Trust is often an issue here. 

MBO pioneers in India

In India, multi-brand service companies are constantly investing in technology and manpower to up the skill and service levels in India. They are targeting this uncertainty in the unorganised domain and improving customer experiences with appointment-based service packages for periodic maintenance. They're also building trust with consumers through warranty-based service packages such as Road Side Assistance (RSA) and Annual Maintenance packages at attractive prices. 

Mahindra First Choice Services, India's largest chain of multi-brand car workshops is into franchising business, it has over 300 franchisees across 26 states in India. Company's Franchisee partners get working capital support, brand support, spares supply, training (technical and process) and IT support.

About Mahindra First Choice Services

Mahindra First Choice Services (MFC Services) is a part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra group and is India's largest chain of multi-brand car and two-wheeler service workshops with a network of 500 franchise partners present in over 350 towns across 26 states.

Each four-wheeler service workshop is spread over an area of 7000 sq. ft- 15000 sq. ft and two-wheeler workshop area ranges from 600 sq. ft- 1200 sqft. MFC Services poised to deliver world-class automobile maintenance and service solutions

At MFC Services, customers can save up to 20 percent servicing costs as compared to authorized service centers. With the motto to provide right inspection, right parts and right billing, Car and Bike owners can now 'Make the Right Choice' by choosing MFC Services to solve their woes.

Marching towards its vision, MFC Services is aggressively making inroads in the Indian car service market, which has historically been shared by OEM dealers and Independent Garages. The company aims to establish a country wide network of over 1000+ multi-brand car servicing workshops and 5000+ multi-brand two-wheeler servicing workshops.

MFC Services has also entered the business of private label spare parts for all brands of cars under the MFC' brand name. The MFC brand stands for smart replacement and is targeted at customers who want quality and value for money spares for their cars.

MFC Services has also launched a new flagship product, DearO – The simplest and smartest workshop management system which is designed to seamlessly work for large, medium and small garages alike. It helps workshops manage their day to day operations in the most effective and efficient manner. DearO is powered by intelligent customer history maintenance, service scheduler and part-finder which are designed to make workshops run efficiently DearO aims to transform the Indian car servicing industry digitally.

Mahindra First Choice Services is also certified as a 'Great Place to Work' organization.

Visit us at www.mahindrafirstchoiceservices.com 
Twitter: @MFCServices
Facebook and Instagram:@MahindraFirstChoiceServices

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 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, aerospace, commercial vehicles, components, defence, logistics, real estate, renewable energy, speedboats and steel, amongst other businesses. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,40,000 people across 100 countries.

Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise

For further information please contact:
Shubhada Dharwadkar,
Deputy General Manager,
Group Communications,
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Tel. no.:  +91(0)22-24917040

Media Contact:
Faiz Bogani
[email protected]
+91-9930556173
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