Hyundai to standardise used-car dealerships

Hyundai Motor India, the country's second largest car maker, is planning to standardise dealerships for used cars.

So far, dealers in Mumbai and New Delhi used to deal in second-hand Hyundai cars on their own terms. The company was in no way responsible for these transactions.

However, from now on, the company will offer guarantee for used cars by issuing Hyundai certification.

"Hyundai has issued guidelines to dealers for selecting cars. We have tie-ups with financial institutions to provide loans to those keen on our used cars," said Arvind Saxena, vice-president, marketing and sales, Hyundai Motor.

Initially, the company has selected six dealers from Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Bhubhaneshwar to issue Hyundai certification for pre-owned cars. Within a short period, it hopes to expand the pre-owned car business to all dealerships in the country.

The company hopes to transact cars from the low-end Santro to the high end Sonata under the initiative.

Hyundai recently sold its one millionth car in India.

"One has to achieve substantial sales of cars to enter the pre-owned market. With our car sales crossing the one million mark, it is the right time for us to enter the market," said Saxena. According to him, the size of the pre-owned car market in the country is 10 million.

Hyundai Motors is planning to scale up its dealership network to 300 from 157. The company aims to sell another one million cars in another 30 months.

Hyundai's cumulative global production for the year stood at 28 lakh cars, of which India's share is three lakh. However, when the production capacity of India reaches six lakh in the next couple of years, the company expects the country's contribution to go up to 15-20 per cent of the cumulative production.