The market is getting very competitive and the fight is tough but certain companies don’t seem to be much bothered by all this.
You read it first on MotorBeam. This is that era of the automotive industry when companies are trying to woo in more and more buyers by launching newer products and also by increasing their sales and service network across the country. However, there are certain manufacturers who are unfazed by all this competition and all they are doing at present is going on a downward spree. Nissan, Renault and General Motors, all three very renowned companies in global markets are seriously lacking in service centres in major cities like Mumbai. Nissan sells the Micra, Sunny, Terrano and Teana in India while Chevrolet sells the Beat, Sail U-VA, Sail sedan, Enjoy, Cruze and Captiva. Renault sells the Pulse, Scala, Lodgy, Duster and Koleos.
The Japanese automaker earlier had Torrent Nissan and Kamla Nissan to service vehicles in the Mumbai region but now both these dealers have shut shop and according to the company’s website, they have service centres in Bhandup, Thane and Navi Mumbai apart from Pune and other areas. This makes it clear that Nissan has just one service centre in Mumbai, i.e. Bhandup since Thane and Navi Mumbai are officially not a part of the city. This makes it quite inconvenient for users of Nissan vehicles if and when they want to service their cars since the lack of service centres means they would have to travel to far-off places.
Chevrolet is another similar case. The company has two service centres in Mumbai – Reay Road and Goregaon while others are located in Navi Mumbai and Thane. Both of these companies are selling very low units each month but that doesn’t mean they cut down on service locations. What makes matters worse is when new customers of these companies who have bought brand new cars need to make some warranty claim or even sort out some issue and they need to go somewhere far. We are not saying that Nissan and GM should start a service centre in every nook and corner of the city, but what we mean to convey is that companies should keep service stations in convenient locations in metros.
Renault also has only one service centre in Mumbai while the rest are similarly located in areas like Panvel. The company will soon be launching the new Kwid hatchback which is a highly optimistic model for the French automaker through which they are planning to increase their market share by a huge margin. But if their customer base increases, do they have the required facilities to meet the service demands of so many vehicles?
