CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, April 15: The automobile dealers from Ranchi met during the Jharkhand Chapter of Automobiles Dealers Meet, organised by the Federation of Automobiles Dealers Association (FADA) here on Friday. The dealers of various brands of automobiles discussed the future of automobiles with respect to various factors such as fuel hike, lockdown and war.
Roy Kurian, the COO of Ampere Motors Pvt. Ltd. said that the customers are moving towards the concept of ‘direct to customers’ (D2C) where they prefer buying things online directly from the manufacturer. However, this concept has its own drawbacks.
“For a middle class person, buying a two-wheeler is a big thing and many upcoming EV companies are providing the option of D2C. However, it is always good to buy a vehicle via a dealer as it gives the buyer the option to test drive the vehicle as well as see the product before buying,” he said.
He added that electric vehicles are the future and in 2021 there were around 48,000 registration of EVs in India. That number has gone up to 2,40,000 in April 2022 and is expected to be around 1 million by the end of 2022. There is a monthly growth of 40 to 50% of EVs in India.
Mohan Himatsingka, Moderator at FADA said that with increase in EV companies in India it is providing opportunities to various dealers. The sale of EVs is going to make the dealers’ ecosystem stronger in the future.
“An automobile dealer makes profit from around 10 to 12 different activities. It is not just the sale of vehicles that makes a dealership good. However, not all dealers are good in providing service whereas some are not good in covering insurance. I believe the dealers need to improve and evolve,” he said.
He added that from July 1, 2023, the dealers’ ecosystem will take proper care of activities related to commercial vehicles, such as registration and insurance, and the dealers should look to grab this opportunity.
Kurian added that with 15% industry conversion from combustion engine to EVs will produce around 3 million EVs in India whereas the number will go upto 4 million with 20% conversion.
