Pics: Dayananda Kukkaje

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)

Mangaluru, Nov 6: The new franchise of Mahindra First Choice Services, West Coast Automotive, was inaugurated by Y V S Vijay Kumar the CEO of Mahindra First Choice at Kannur in city on Friday, November 6.

Speaking at the occasion Vijay Kumar said "I congratulate West Coast group for building such a nice workshop here. It is probably one of the best workshops among all other outlets. I have come to this beautiful city for the first time and it is a privilege to be here. Mahindra first choice is a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra. It was the dream of Anand Mahindra to give the same service even after the service validity expires. Usually owners go to private garages after the service validity expires. Multi brand servicing has 33 percent of the market share in developed countries. Thus India has high growth opportunity in this segment. About 80 plus workshops have opened up all over India. 50 plus workshops are under construction."

Sudhir Shetty the opposition leader of Mangaluru City Corporation said "Mangaluru has been chosen as smart city. This new workshop by West Coast group is happy news for this city. Kannur was a backward village 15 years back. But this area has been developing at a high speed in the past few years with the opening of big showrooms. West coast started as small firm has grown into a giant by giving employment to many. I congratulate West Coast on opening of this new showroom."
Former MLC Monappa Bhandary said "This new showroom in this region has contributed to the development of this area. This workshop with all kinds of vehicle service under one roof will help the customers a lot. I urge west coast motors to earn the confidence of the customers."

Haji Haroon Dada the Chairman, West Coast Group of Firms, Mohammed Rafiq, Ismail Haroor, M B Ganesh the DGM of corporation bank and Harsha D'Souza were the other dignitaries on the dais.

Post inauguration, YV S Vijay Kumar the CEO of Mahindra First Choice Services conducted a press meet at Hotel Ocean Pearl.

Addressing media persons he said "Our business model for franchisees has received a strong response in the Karnataka region and this is what has prompted us to expand our presence further in the state. With its strong focus on customer service and knowledge of the local market, our new franchise workshop at Mangaluru will help us further build on our existing presence in the state. We see great potential for the multi-brand car servicing business in this market. Nationally, we intend to close this fiscal with 150 plus franchisee workshops. This will help us enhance the scale and depth of our operations and enable us to reach a greater number of potential customers across the country. MFCS will operate through its hub based in Bengaluru where it will be scaling up operations through multiple workshops. The company’s franchise workshops will capitalize on the MFCS brand and deploy a robust business model for sustained higher financial returns. The company also plans to make Hubballi its second hub to help strengthen its position in Karnataka. MFCS’ aim is to establish 35 multi-brand car workshops in the state by March 2016,"

"MFCS has currently 4 franchisees operational in Karnataka in Bengaluru, Hassan, Mysore and Shivamogga 8 have 18 new franchises under various stages of development. It now plans to appoint franchise partners in Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Davanagere, Dharwad, Mandya, Madikeri/Gonikoppal, Bagalkot, Bidar, Raichur, Sindhanur, Karwar , Sirsi, Haveri and also in Goa. At present, the Karnataka market is underserved and customers have limited options for their car maintenance requirements. With its skilled technicians, genuine spare parts, state-of—the—art equipment and robust processes, MFCS will fill the lacuna in this market. Mahindra First Choice Services which was established in 2008, pioneered the concept of multi-brand car service workshops and has since serviced 3, 30,000 cars. At present, it has 83 workshops, including 20 company-owned facilities. The company’s goal is to have 500 workshops by 2018 and it is investing more than Rs 250 crore over five years to create infrastructure and expand its network to achieve this goal. in order to supply parts to the workshops, the company is also planning to increase its All India cluster warehouse network from the present 15 to 43," Vijay Kumar added.

"At MFCS, customers can save between 10 and 20 per cent on car servicing costs as compared to authorized service centres of several car brands. The company is able toprovide car service facilities at competitive rates as it sources the parts in bulk from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For a car service provider, a strong spares supply chain and technical training are the two most essential elements. With 83 existing workshops and over 3, 30,000 cars serviced, MFCS believes that it has a very strong proposition for the franchisee. The company offers a simplified business model in multi-brand car servicing with a robust supply chain for spare parts through its cluster warehouse. Each cluster warehouse supplies parts as per the daily requirements of FOFOs and COCOS, thus reducing the need to maintain huge inventories at workshops. Each MFCS workshop uses quality spares procured at competitive rates and follows stringent quality measures. MFCS also provides hassle- free cashless insurance facility with leading insurance companies and a convenient free booking service for customers. Car owners can book a service either by calling the workshop or the toll free number 1800-22-4008 or through the MFCS website, ww.mahindrafirstchoiceservices.com. The company has a strong digital presence through its website and offers various innovative features like the recently launched, first of its kind online car dent estimator tool."Vijay Kumar concluded.