Honda to invest ₹260 crore to upgrade sales network across India

Honda with its dealer partners has planned to invest around ₹260 crore to upgrade the brand's dealerships across India to take them to a premium level as the Japanese automaker gears up to bring SUVs into the market starting next year. A senior official from Honda informed that the company initiated this project in 2019, however, it was forced to scale down following the pandemic.

By making the outlets more premium, Honda is aiming to cater to the changing customers' needs and expectations. Honda Cars India Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Kunal Behl said that as the situation related to the pandemic is getting better, Honda is reviving its 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," added Bahl. He added that the investment in collaboration with our dealer partners amounts to ₹260 crore of which ₹100 crore has already been invested to revamp over 100 outlets highlighting its new corporate identity.

The upgraded dealerships will change the look and feel of the space which will provide a luxurious retail experience to the customers, Behl informed. “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 further. A fully integrated digital workshop management system will also be an integral part of the renovated dealerships.

Honda which is getting ready to bring in SUVs next year currently sells sedans like City, City eHEV and Amaze in the Indian market. In a recent report, the Japanese automaker stated that the Honda Amaze compact sedan found five lakh homes in the domestic market. The Honda Amaze sedan was first launched in 2013 and it rivals Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Hyundai Aura.

(With inputs from PTI)