Following in the foot steps of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, German auto giant Volkswagen will soon enter the Indian market of used cars. The Volkswagen director for passenger cars in India, Neeraj Garg said that they have been in the India for sometime now. They have also realized that there are many people here who like to change their vehicles every few years. They have also perceived a market for pre-owned cars. This led them to think that now was the right time for making their entry in this segment.
Neeraj, however refused to give out when they plan to enter this segment. According to sources, thought VW might be foraying in to this venture by next month itself. VW has two more brands in the product range it offers to its Indian market, Skoda and Audi. VW Finance India is a part of the Financial Services AG of VW and a fully owned subsidiary of this German manufacturer. It was just recently conferred with a license from Reserve Bank of India, so as to finance Volkswagen’s pre-owned cars by opening a non-banking finance company.
Mercedes was the first Luxury auto manufacturer which entered the Indian used car segment, in the year 2009. Meanwhile, BMW entered this market by June, 2010. While there are many branded chains of used cars like Honda Auto Terrace, Maruti TrueValue, Ford Assured, Hyundai Advantage, Mahindra & Mahindra’s First Choice and Toyota U Trust, the pre-owned segment in India is still much unorganized. The organized segment in the overall Pre-owned market is barely 4 to 5 per cent.