HMSI launches mobile service van to tap rural markets

To tap the potential of India’s rural markets, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has launched a rural outreach initiative. It comprises a mobile service van that aims to combine the services of a dealership and aftersales outlet.

The first of such mobile vans was launched by Keita Muramatsu, CEO and president, HMSI, and Prabhu Nagraj, VP (customer service). The company hopes to have 11 mobile service vans by the end of the year.

The van has space for the display of a two-wheeler, seating for customers, LED displays for products and a public address system. The van will have two service bays and is equipped to train local service technicians in the rural areas and villages, the company said in a statement.

The importance of the rural demand to Honda can be gauged by the fact that  70 percent of the 1,000 touch-points that the company aims to add this year will be established in rural areas. The Mobile Service Van (MSV) aims to take Honda one step ahead of even where the reach of its last touch-point ends.

In recent years, several Indian auto companies are looking to tap the potential of the rural market. Among them is India Yamaha Motor and Hero MotoCorp. Based on the 2011 Census, the road density is just 0.4km in the rural areas as against 2.4km  in urban areas. However, interestingly, the increase in per capita incomes is rising faster in rural than in urban areas, and this has implications for deliveries of goods from FMCGs to medical products and indeed to two-wheelers and cars.