The company says it is in advanced stages of talks with all major automobile manufacturers to bring them on its platform, and is already experimenting with brands such as TVS and Kawasaki here.
Automobiles — including spares and accessories — is one of the fastest growing categories on Flipkart, and is expected to become one of its largest categories in the next two-three years. On the other hand, the two-wheeler market in the country was at 15.4 million units during 2015, with online sales accounting for less than one per cent of it.
“It’s doable because we now have 75 million customers who are registered users. Moreover, a lot of our customers are students who are tech savvy, and that’s the right target group for two-wheelers as well,” said Adarsh Menon, vice-president of the electronics and auto categories at Flipkart.
A large number of two and four wheeler buyers consult numerous websites and blogs to come to a decision on which vehicle to buy. Experts say it is only natural progression for people to begin buying (or booking) vehicles online and that e-commerce could be the choicest tool for OEMs to reach their customers in the future.
Auto accessories have already found good traction on Flipkart according to Menon. Tyres, which are a product almost no customer installs by themselves, are now being bought online and the company hopes the same will be true for spares, one of the newest categories the company has launched.
"Online players are going to have an important role, at least in urban centres where customers use the internet and do all their analysis. Online bookings are picking up very fast and I won't be surprised if it crosses 10-20 per cent in the coming years," said Abdul Majeed, Partner at Pricewaterhouse, who tracks the auto industry in India.
While online marketplaces such as Snapdeal and Flipkart so far have tied up with manufacturers such as Mahindra for exclusive online pre-booking campaigns, the momentum is picking up. Moreover, while sales are still routed through offline dealerships, manufacturers are directly interacting with online marketplaces.
Menon adds that Flipkart is looking to become a one-stop-shop for all things automotive, right from buying accessories such as smartphone holders to buying new cars as well. Auto accessories which is largely an unorganised sector offline, is now seeing sellers sign up as partners on e-commerce websites in order to get access to buyers across the country.
"E-commerce will play an important role in connecting the customer to the manufacturer. It's too early to say what may happen in the future, but one direction in which things are moving is OEMs could start selling directly online," added Majeed.
