OLX bolsters market leadership in pre-owned cars with the launch of the franchisee model

OLX, India’s market leader in pre-owned automobiles, announces the launch of its new franchisee-led pre-owned car retail offering where dealers and consumers can buy and sell pre-owned cars. The franchise-led model which will be branded as ‘OLX Autos’ will enable independent dealers to become a part of OLX India’s approved dealer network and is an extension of OLX’s online classifieds marketplace. The new offering aims to enhance the element of trust amongst pre-owned car dealers and consumers by bringing them together in a reliable and trustworthy retail environment.

As OLX exclusive partners, the dealers will leverage the OLX Integrated-Omni Channel Store experience where they will be able to retail pre-owned cars across OLX’s massive online marketplace as well. This will also bring along a host of benefits such as access to leads from the online marketplace via a digital storefront and the ability to provide value-added services to customers.

Customers will have access to a larger inventory of verified cars, avail extended warranty services, roadside assistance, and insurance on their pre-owned car purchases. This move is a further extension of OLX’s online platform to the offline format, complementing its already successful company-owned offline stores called OLX CashMyCar.

As per OLX’s estimates, India’s pre-owned market is 80% unorganised comprising largely of small and medium-sized dealers who deal in limited car inventories across geographic pockets which limits their access to consumers thereby impacting their potential to maximise their earnings. Owing to COVID19, OLX estimates that about 60% plus pre-owned car dealers have unsold inventory and are facing difficulties while availing working capital.

Traditionally when consumers bought or sold a pre-owned car to dealers there was a lack of a standardised experience or a certification process which could vouch for the quality of the car being retailed. The new franchise-led model contributes to further strengthen OLX’s market leadership in the pre-owned car segment thereby augmenting the largely untapped and unorganised pre-owned car retail market in India. The dealer ecosystem in India has been fraught with trust issues due to a restricted inventory, limited working capital and a not so satisfactory end consumer experience. In order to tide over the challenges related to limited financing, OLX will also provide economical inventory funding options to the dealers.

Talking about the launch of the franchise network in India, Amit Kumar, Head OLX Autos India, said, “With a mission to create an efficient ecosystem of pre-owned car retail in India, we are launching the franchise operations to cater to the ever-growing demands to organize retail of pre-owned cars in the country. With this franchisee model, the goal is to serve customers better in their local communities with a trusted way to buy pre-owned cars through our dealer partners who stand to benefit immensely from this extension of our business. We’ve seen tremendous response already, and we are confident that our move into franchising will bring several enthusiastic and energetic entrepreneurs onto our platform. Together, we will significantly enhance the customer experience for buyers and sellers.”

He further added, “The network of our franchise stores will work collaboratively with our dealer partners to increase their profitability and improve their operations, thereby enabling them to offer compelling customer value. We are excited about the market opportunities ahead.”

To ensure that franchise-led outlets replicate the values and processes of the company, OLX will also assist dealers in rebranding their stores for an improved customer service with the aesthetics and experience being supplemented by OLX merchandise. In order to standardise the offering and present customers with a trustworthy experience of buying pre-owned cars, each certified car will undergo a stringent inspection process based on parameters such as the condition of the car, kilometres driven, the authenticity of the car documentation and more.

The franchisees will receive training to start and grow their business and access to a full-service model which includes: guidance for bulk procurement, better deals for insurance, branding guidance and franchise guidance program at regular intervals.

(We got this information in a press release).