Mahindra First Choice Wheels eyes 25% Growth in 2015

Kolkata, May 12 (IANS) Multi-brand used car company, Mahindra First Choice Wheels (MFCW) on Tuesday said it is eyeing a 24-25 percent growth in this fiscal year even as it plans to add 200 more outlets across India.

“We presently have 500 franchisee outlets in 270 cities across India and sold 69,000 cars during 2014-15. This year too we have projected a growth of 24-25 percent,” the company’s senior vice president, Yatin Chadha told media persons here.

The company is expecting to close the fiscal 2014-15 at Rs.20,700,000,000. Besides the projected growth in its revenue, the company will also be strengthening its customer services and adding more financing firms.

“We already provide the customers with financing and other assistance. This year, we’ll be tying-up with more finance companies as well as expand customer assistance programmes,” said Chadha.

He said the used smaller commercial vehicles division, which has 57 outlets, is also doing well in the organised used car market space and the company will grow this vertical. “Out of the 200 new outlets planned this year, 50 will be in the smaller commercial vehicles space,” he said.

According to Chadha, the used car market in India is estimated at 3.6 million units each year. “Of this market, 18-20 percent comprises the organised market while the unorganised segment accounts for 24-25 percent,” he said.

During 2014-15, the major brands sold by the company in the used-car segment were Maruti, Honda and Hyundai.

“Premium used cars contributed two percent of our sales. The sales of these cars is mostly confined to the markets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It will take a while for the premium segment to spread across to other cities,” he said.

Besides following the franchisee model of operation in the used car space, MFCW is also present in the car auction market where it sold 65,000 units during 2014-15. “In the auctioning space, cars accounts for 20-25 percent while two-wheelers make up for 30 percent of the total sales. The rest comprises small commercial vehicles,” said Chadha.