In what perhaps signal a shift in the often traditional ways of carmakers, Mercedes-Benz will not expand its dealer network in India beyond the current sales and service touch points as it transitions to a direct gross sales model. This will see the German titan assume responsibility for distribution, warehouse, retail, and even reductions.
The company, which leads India’s luxury market, has committed Rs. 60 crore to the new retail concept, which will see sellers work as franchisee partners, largely responsible for product demos, model expertise, automobile supply, and after-gross sales.
“The new direct-to-customer model – under the ‘Retail of the Future’ initiative — will help drive in transparency and ease into the whole system through installation of a robust online platform,” Mercedes India MD & CEO Martin Schwenk stated.
Mercedes will announce a nationally-set cost under the new system, as it will own the whole inventory of vehicles and charge them directly to customers. The intriguing part is that dealers will not be permitted to provide any discounts to entice customers, and will instead be treated like franchise partners. Any incentive program can be implemented immediately by the company.
This will be the first time an automaker completes direct gross sales with sellers and retailers – now referred to as franchise partners – who will be engaged purely for inquiries, customer service, supply, and repair help, earning a fee and incentive based on the volumes they sell.
“We are present in around 50 cities, which is sufficient to take care of existing and new customers. We have no intentions to further increase or reduce this network.” said Schwenk.
The firm says that the measure will guarantee higher dealer profitability by eliminating possibilities of any inter-dealer cut-throat worth warfare. The sellers may even profit by saving on the stock holding price that they presently have. Such expense usually runs into crores of rupees for every retailer, and carries a curiosity price and potential penalties if shares should not liquidate (bought) on time by them. This retail program has already been carried out in countries like Austria, Sweden and South Africa, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in India.
