Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd., a part of the US$6.7 billion Mahindra Group, on October 1, 2008, has inaugurated its first CarXSpace multi-brand car service outlet in Chennai. Spread across 15,000 sq. ft, the outlet is located at Thiru Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy Industrial Estate and will service all brands of cars across segments. This is the company's third outlet since launch and its first outlet in South India.
Commenting on the inauguration, Rajeev Dubey, president (HR, after-market & corporate services) & member of the group management board, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, said "We are delighted to introduce the CarXSpace brand experience from Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd., to Chennai. In India, the car servicing market mainly comprises authorized repairers and independent garages. Our market research has shown that car owners would prefer a service outlet such as ours with a value proposition built on trust, customer experience and convenience," he added.
According to R. Subramani, CEO, Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd, the new CarXSpace outlet at Guindy has eight compact bays and trained technicians will service a limited number of vehicles per day, ensuring each customer gets individual attention. Customer centricity is a key aspect of business at CarXSpace with each customer receiving photographic evidence of work undertaken on his car. Since our inception in May 2008, the company has serviced 35 different car brands and is being perceived as a one-stop shop for multi-brand car servicing."
CarXSpace aims to redefine the car servicing experience in India with a range of unique services available at very competitive rates, as compared to authorized dealerships. The company employs technicians who can cater to multi-brand servicing requirements.
Moreover, only original spares and accessories, directly procured from companies at competitive rates, are used. CarXSpace also follows stringent quality measures including photographic evidence of parts being changed and a mandatory 50 point check which is performed on all cars with an engine analyzer. Car owners are given a warranty that their cars will not need repairs for the next 4,000 kilometres.
The company's first CarXSpace outlet was launched in Parel, in Central Mumbai, in April 2008. Since then, it has seen a steady of increase of both corporate and individual customers with an average of 15 cars serviced per day. The outlet has undertaken both mechanical and body shop repairs for 27 different car models. The second outlet was opened in Andheri in Suburban Mumbai, in September 2008 and is already servicing an average of nine cars per day.
Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd. is part of the Mahindra Group's newly launched After-Market Sector which also includes Mahindra First Choice Ltd., which undertakes purchase and sale of pre-owned vehicles and the Mahindra Spares business (both Mahindra and non-Mahindra). The new vertical seeks to create a business ecosystem in the after-market space which mirrors the ecosystem for new vehicles.