The used car market has better prospects after the pandemic hit our economy for a simple reason, it has products to offer at more affordable rates. The same also goes for luxury car market and it's probably the best time for luxury carmakers to focus on their used car business. Audi India that's been on a roll since last year with multiple product launches is now gearing up to rack up its used car Approved Plus business as well by improving its reach in our country as well as by upping its inventory level. The Audi Approved: Plus business will not only help existing customers to sell their Audis and go for a new one, but will also bring in new customers in the business who may end up buying new Audis at some point of time.
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(Cars that come to Audi Approved: Plus are scrutinised meticulously and undergo a 300+ multi-point checks which include everything from the suspension to tyres, to general wear and tear)
Speaking to carandbike, Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head - Audi India said, "Audi Approved: Plus is also one of our focus areas that we have and from many perspectives. One is from dealer perspective and the most important one is for our customers. If you own an Audi, you should also have a place where you can sell your Audi. Then you should also have an outlet where if you want to enter a luxury segment without owning a new car, you should be able to enter through a pre-owned car business. What it does for us is that it already gives us prospective buyers who will buy a new car in some time to come. So it's a win-win situation for everybody."
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(Audi's Approved: Plus program offers a wide range of used Audi luxury cars)
Now sales of pre-owned cars have gone up and are likely to increase even further, but the real challenge in front of Audi India is to maintain sufficient inventory levels. "Of course last year was a challenging situation, what happened last year was that people were not buying new cars and were holding on to their existing cars. So the biggest challenge we faced last year was of buying pre-owned cars. Selling was not a problem at all, whatever cars we got we sold them off. I am hoping that the situation changes this year and people selling their existing Audis and buying a new Audi and then we are able to resale those cars to customers with value addition. This is what our endeavour is going to be and we will clearly focus to make the Approved Plus business a solid vertical which is not just sustainable, but at the same time gives a lot of comfort to our customers," Dhillon added.
(Audi India is planning to expand its reach and sell used cars in more locations in India)
Going forward, Audi India is planning to expand its reach and sell used car products across locations, be it integrated showrooms or even exclusive Approved Plus network which will also help the company in increasing its inventory level. But speaking of the immediate plan, Dhillon said that the company plans is trying to at least have the Approved Plus used car dealerships in double-digit numbers by the end of 2021, from seven units as of now. The Audi Approved: plus has 300 checkpoints when the car comes in for resale and the same model is sold with the required value addition. They also offer extended warranty and a service package even on pre-owned vehicles.
