Mahindra First Choice Wheels launches ‘Edition’ brand for premium used cars

Mahindra First Choice Wheels (MFCW), a leading multi-brand certified used car company, has launched its ‘Edition’ brand, one of the first used cars franchise networks in India for the premium segment. The first store was opened in Juhu, Mumbai with the car parc including cars from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Commenting on the launch of ‘Edition’, Rajeev Dubey, group president (HR & Corporate Services) and CEO (Aftermarket sector), member of the Group executive board, Mahindra Group, said, “Aspirational buyers with rising disposable incomes are increasingly looking to upgrade to premium car brands. ‘Edition’ offers them a unique opportunity to acquire their favourite car brand at a much more accessible price.”

L-R: Rajeev Dubey, group president (HR & Corporate Services) and CEO (Aftermarket sector), member of the Group executive board, Mahindra Group; and Ashutosh Pandey, CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels.

According to Ashutosh Pandey, CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels, “Edition will help to drive our future growth by expanding our product portfolio and giving us access to an entirely new customer segment. We are expecting to open 5-6 more outlets in this quarter and are going to retail around 10-12 cars a month per outlet.”

He further added, “The used car volume is expected to grow at 15 percent CAGR, from 3.3 million to 7.4 million units by FY2022. Currently, the organised sector comprises of 15 percent while the semi-organised sector comprises of 36 percent of the domestic used car market. With a rising demand from Tier 2 and 3 cities, the organised sector for the used cars is expected to grow up to 35 percent by 2022. We see a $7 billion (Rs 50,789 crore) opportunity by FY2023.”

MFCW claims that it is the market leader in the online auction space, doing $1 billion (Rs 7,268 crore) GMV (gross merchandise value) annually and 1.5 million inspections.

During a media interaction, Pandey revealed that the company sold 240,000 cars in the previous year and 160,000 cars in the year before. With a target of surpassing 300,000 units this year, the management is confident of breaking even this year after two years of reporting a loss on the back of an investment spree.

MFCW has over 1,200 outlets across over 500 cities. By deploying its 118-point quality inspection and refurbishment process, the company looks to extend its leadership in the Indian used car market. The company had raised Rs 1,674 crore funding from Silicon Valley-based Hedge Fund, Valiant Capital and Cox Automotive. It is aiming for 5,000 functional franchisees in India in the next five years.

Also read: Mahindra First Choice Wheels appoints Ashutosh Pandey as CEO