Would a Multi-car dealership strategy be successful?

Mr.Jagdish Khattar,I have great respect for the man.He has taken Maruti Suzki India to a completely different level and Maruti should thank him for what it is today.Even on a personal level I have got to interact with him and I was completely mesmerized by his management skills and his humility.For him customer really was king.

It comes as no surprise that even at this age after retiring from MSIL he is starting his own venture.He is think of setting up Multi-car dealerships across the country.Now the question really is how successful could this model be.Can cars be sold just like fridges,TV's and washing machines.

The problems I see are the after sales part where the whole company trained personnel concept goes for a toss also there could be a problem of logistics since different manufacturers are concerned while ensuring quality is not compromised. I would love to see Mr.Jagdish Khattar do more on this issue and assure us that standards are similar to those of single car dealerships.Initial expenditure for setting up such a dealership would be on the higher side which would also include training the concerned personnel and sourcing equipment.There is also the question of volumes,too little and the dealership could run into losses pretty soon while too high and the dealership may just not be able to handle them.In some places I have seen dealers managing two different manufacturers at the same place where mostly one arm has suffered because of the other[the present Tata-Fiat showroom is a classic example where the best work for tata and emphasis is given more on the sales of tata vehicles].

However with real estate prices touching sky-high levels and dealer margins becoming wafer thin this could certainly help in better revenue generation for car dealerships and also help improve the sales and service network of car manufacturers at the lowest possible costs.This may very well be the way forward.Year 2009 will see the first such dealerships from Mr. Khattar.