Honda lines up Rs 260 cr to upgrade sales network with SUV push on anvil

Japanese automaker Honda along with its dealer partners plans to invest around Rs 260 crore to upgrade its dealerships across India to make them more premium as it gears up to drive in sports utility vehicles in the market starting next year, as per a senior company official.

Honda's dealer network in the country currently comprises 330 facilities in 242 cities.

The company, which is present in the country through a wholly-owned unit, had initiated the project in 2019 but it had to be scaled down due to the impact of the pandemic on the dealers' business.

"With COVID situation improving a lot, we have renewed our focus on revamping the entire sales network and putting it on a fast track. There are still some challenges about capacity and time, but our effort is to maximise the number of revamped outlets in this year and next year," Honda Cars India Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Kunal Behl told PTI in an interaction.

The move to make the outlets premium is to cater to the changing customer outlook and also coincides with the company's upcoming product push in the sports utility segment starting next year, he added.

"The investment in collaboration with our dealer partners in the remaining network will be around Rs 260 crore," Behl stated.

The automaker and its dealers have already invested Rs 100 crore to revamp over 100 outlets highlighting its new corporate identity.

Honda currently sells sedans like City, City eHEV and Amaze in the domestic market.

The revamp of facilities will include changing the look and face of the dealerships and providing a more premium retail experience to customers, Behl said.

"The customer behaviour is fast evolving and it is our continuous endeavour to provide them the right buying environment and ambience at the dealership," he added.

Behl further said the new dealership design with new corporate identity is created to enhance customer experience and happiness in the form of distinctive exteriors, warm and welcoming interiors and a new customer interface.

A fully integrated digital workshop management system is also an integral part of the revamped dealerships, he added.