Shriram Automall foresees smart growth in pre-owned passenger cars

Shriram Automall India Ltd (SAMIL), the 100 percent subsidiary of Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) which has notched 50 percent growth year on year, expects the pre-owned passenger car segment to offer immense growth potential for the company.

Talking to Autocar Professional, Sameer Malhotra, CEO, SAMIL, said, “At present, the commercial vehicle segment contributes to half of our business since it was the first vertical that we opened three years ago. We believe the passenger car segment has the potential to offer us huge growth in the coming years.”

According to Malhotra, SAMIL’S pre-owned car vertical which opened six months ago has received an encouraging response from customers, financiers and OEM-authorised dealers. 

SAMIL started operations in 2011 with an aim to provide a platform predominantly for the pre-used commercial vehicle segment. Three years later, the company now has a complete solution on hand including physical bidding, online bidding, one-stop kiosks and private treaty in the second-hand CV, construction equipment, tractor, passenger cars, three- and two-wheelers segments.

According to Malhotra, the used vehicles market in India is about 100,000 crore strong and largely dominated by the unorganized market, which is why SAMIL with its organized approach foresees tremendous scope to grow.

At present, SAMIL has 34 Automalls spread across India and is looking to expand this network to 60 by the end of 2014-15 by opening around three Automalls every month. The company also has 120 physical bidding locations. According to the company official, SAMIL’s bidding platform has been adopted by almost every brand in the automobile industry.

Photographs: Sameer Malhotra, CEO, SAMIL; bidding in progress.