Major car companies eyes dealer network in Kerala

Kochi: Kochi has emerged as a potential market for luxury car segment and as such car manufacturers such as Audi and Volkswagen have announced opening of their dealerships in the city.

Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, had appointed Patel Cars as its dealer here besides four more new dealerships at Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ludhiana. With this, Audi’s dealership network now expands to 12 locations across the country.

The Kochi showroom coming up at Maradu will have separate modern Audi workshop to service all Audi models. The showroom will be designed to give the customer a complete Audi experience the whole Audi model range with different equipments and the Audi world with the international standards of Audi Corporate Identity, a press release issued here said.

Volkswagen, the largest car maker in Europe, had also announced setting up of a dealership in Kochi as part of its strategy to extend the company’s reach in the country. “We see a growing demand for our cars and this step is towards a greater pan India presence and easier accessibility to customers”, Mr Joerg Mueller, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen Group-India, said in a statement issued here.

The announcement comes at a time when the company is witnessing an upsurge in demand from across the country and is building up a plant in Chakan, Pune, with a start of production in 2009.

The company this year aims to operate 15 outlets in the country and propose to open around 30 outlets by the end of 2009, he said.

Located at NH bye-pass near Maradu, the Kochi showroom is spread over 7,500 sq ft area. The facility, to be ready by October, will provide a premium buying experience to customers at par with the world class Volkswagen standards of sales and service.