NEW DELHI: With no signs of demand picking up, carmakers are thinking out of the box to push sales in the upcoming festive season. In a bid to woo young and trendy millennials, Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday rolled out a subscription-based passenger car ownership model in partnership with Revv, a startup that operates in the car-sharing space.
While monthly rates start from Rs 19,720, the benefits include zero down payment, no road tax/insurance payment and no maintenance cost as the subscription fees include all these expenses. M&M will offer seven models for subscription — KUV100, XUV500, XUV300, Scorpio, TUV300, Alturas G4 and Marazzo — which will be available in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.
“We plan to add 11 more cities in the next phase,” said Veejay Ram Nakra, head of sales and marketing, automotive division. The subscription period ranges from one to four years. Customers will have to pay a refundable deposit and one month’s charges upfront. The subscription scheme is similar to leasing where the vehicle will be owned by the firm, not the customer.
“The subscription model offers flexibility... It allows young professionals to change or upgrade the cars if they want. They get access to driving a brand new car with this scheme,” said Nakra.“This model has worked well in global markets and has immense possibility of success in Indian market,” Puneet Gupta, an automotive analyst at IHS Markit, told TNIE.