If you are a global automobile manufacturer who has entered a new market, you need to take care of two very important things. First you need to have a good product line-up which should completely abide by the demand of the market and secondly you have to have an appreciably big dealership network. Absence of one of the two could batter the sales of a company.
For instance there is a new company in the market and it launches a couple of budget hatchbacks, then it will have to ensure that the cars reach every possible region of the country. If they have a good sales network in the cities but do not have enough dealerships to connect with the rural areas, the company is likely to lose some good sales. So the bottom line is that a wide dealership network is essential for an automobile manufacturer.
General Motors (parent company of Chevrolet) is existing in the Indian market for a while now and has some good products to offer. Lately the sales have been showing a slight dip which has started concerning GM, to recover its sales the company has announced that it is going expand its dealerships network. GM plans to have at least 300 sales points and an equal number of service stations across the country by the end of this financial year.
Some of the cities that are at the top of priority list are going to get new dealerships and they are; Bangalore, Hissar, Una, Nawashehar, Rohtak and Amritsar. The focus is on opening new facilities in tier II and tier III cities, where much of the demand for vehicles is taking place as a result of increased economic activities in the semi-urban and rural areas. At present the company has 279 sales points and 272 service outlets, and the company plans to take the count to over 300 by year end.
Speaking on the dealership expansion drive, Mr. Lowell Paddock, President and Managing Director of GM India, said:
“The new outlets will support our growing Chevrolet lineup across the country. This is part of GM India’s goal of expanding the accessibility of our products and becoming a volume player in the market. Like our existing state of the art facilities, our new sales points and service outlets will set benchmarks for sales, service and customer satisfaction.”
If we talk about the upcoming products, Chevrolet Sail hatchback, Chevrolet Sail Sedan and the Chevrolet Enjoy MPV are the upcoming products which will be launched within this fiscal 2012-13. Going forwards, we expect Chevrolet Trax down the line which is a Renault Duster competitor. Chevrolet Trailblazer is another SUV which could get launched but considering the fact that it is a premium car, the chances are less. We will keep you posted on the new launches from Chevrolet India, stay tuned to Car Blog India.
