Jagdish Khattar, former Maruti MD, announced his foray in the multi-car sales segment. He will launch an organised multi-brand car sales chain in India with an investment of nearly Rs. 100 crores. His new company, Carnation Auto India Ltd. Is backed by Wipro chairman, Azim Premji who will invest Rs. 80 crores and remaining Rs .20 crores will be invested by IFCI Venture Capital Funds.
The projected car sale in India is 3 million and a car park of 19 million by 2015. Most of the families in India have multiple brands of car and nearly 60-70 percent car owners go outside the manufacturer’s network past the warranty period. Carnation Auto plans to cater to this large segment of multiple car brand owners seeking suitable alternative for servicing all cars of different brands under one roof. The company will initially provide facilities like servicing, body shop solutions and mechanical repair.
"Our Auto Solution Hubs will provide everything a car owner would need to maximize his ownership experience." Elaborating on his vision for Carnation Auto, Mr. Khattar said, "The multi-brand concept will allow us to provide automobile manufacturers, especially new entrants and those with limited market share, small car park & capacity constraints, a more efficient route-to-market through faster nation wide retail presence, scale efficiencies and servicing support."
