Meta announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) to digitally enable thousands of auto dealers across the country to reach consumers digitally. The announcement came at the Auto Expo 2023, where Meta announced the launch of ‘Move with Meta’, a skilling and enablement program in partnership with FADA to upskill more than 3000 auto dealers across the country to build a social presence and digitize using Meta Platforms. FADA currently represents 15,000 auto dealers across the country.
With people increasingly relying on digital touchpoints to decide on their automobile purchases, auto dealers have felt an urgent need to become discoverable to customers online. Meta platforms enable auto dealers to build a social presence through key products such as Stories, Reels, Business messaging, Facebook and WhatsApp Groups and AR experiences. Moreover, Facebook and Instagram also help auto dealers with a more efficient model of lead generation through hyperlocal outreach and hyperlocal automated lead generation in partnership with the OEMs.
Said Saugato Bhowmik, Director – Auto, CPG, and D2C for Meta in India, “Our platforms and products are well positioned to enable rapid and efficient digital customer acquisition and customer engagement for dealers in a hyperlocal manner. Over the last two years we’ve enabled more than 2600 dealers to digitize their outreach and experiences through our unique solutions and tools. We’re thrilled to now be joined by FADA on this journey to further unlock growth for auto dealers and in turn for OEMs across India.”
Commenting on the partnership, Manish Raj Singhania, President of FADA said, “Meta has done path breaking work by helping dealers create a social presence and generate online leads with minimal investment. With digital penetration increasing, our endeavour is to help scale India’s auto dealers across geographies and demographics to connect with customers online. With Meta’s wide reach across the country including in smaller towns, and adoption by people across age-groups, it’s among the strongest platforms for auto dealers to leverage and generate leads online.”
FADA will play a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless delivery of the ‘Move with Meta’ program across geographies to enhance the digital prowess and proficiency of automotive dealers of all sizes. The program will incorporate knowledge from global teams and provide dealers with easy and low-cost access to best-in-class global digital expertise. Meta will also leverage FADA’s scaled forums such as state level dealership workshops known as Vyapaar and its initiatives for under-35 dealers to enhance the reach of the program.
Said Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India Pvt. Ltd, “MSIL launched the Maruti Suzuki Hyperlocal Program in July 2018 for its dealer partners, where a highly targeted marketing is done based within a specific geographic location of dealer. Today, we have 2500+ live outlets under this initiative and a majority of them are live with media. We collaborate with Meta to enable customers to discover dealers near them in their auto purchase journey, digitise dealerships, setup online storefronts and setup a direct online lead generation channel for them and help dealerships build a local brand and engage with customers on Meta”