Shriram Automall India Limited (SAMIL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) which is India’s largest asset financing non-banking financial company, has been promoting the growth of the Indian automobile industry for many years by presenting a wide range of used vehicles and equipment across various segments. Having set up more than 30 Automalls across the country, SAMIL is planning to double the number to 60 by the end of FY15.
Talking exclusively to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Sameer Malhotra, CEO, SAMIL, says: “The commercial vehicle segment in India is quite fragmented and is strictly dealer-driven. SAMIL introduced the concept of organised exchange in the second-hand vehicle market. Now-a-days, a majority of large fleet owners dispose their vehicles through known contacts or agents, instead of disposing it through organised routes. 
At Shriram Automall, we maintain the highest level of transparency in the market. We upgrade the life-cycle of all the products, particularly the CVs and offer much better price in comparison to the unorganised players.”
SAMIL facilitates the acquisition and disposal of pre-owned vehicles which are as new as unused and also those that are even over 20 years old. It has been associated with various brands of vehicles and banks/NBFC’s including Tata Motors, John Deere, SBI and General Motors, which builds up a huge customer base for its business.
The commercial vehicle segment is counted as the company’s main bet, accounting for a major per cent of its total business, while tractors, construction equipment, passenger cars and two wheelers contribute to the remainder of its sales.
Talking about the tractor market, he says: “Tractor resale is a much more organised second-hand market in the country than any other vehicle segment. We are working with all major tractor manufacturers as on date and also work closely with tractor dealers by providing them various solutions to exhaust their trade in stocks quickly and efficiently.”
Having established itself as a clear leader in the CV segment, SAMIL has set its sights on the pre-owned car segment which will be catered to through its growing network of Automalls across the country. Briefing about the company’s recent foray into the highly-competitive segment, Mr. Malhotra says: “Being leaders in commercial vehicle resale, we are now giving more impetus to the passenger vehicle segment which we have recently entered. We feel it is the right time to enter into this market which is growing rapidly. While people are shifting from two-wheelers to cars, a majority of them are looking out for used cars. With lot of unorganised dealers in the market, only 10 per cent of this business remains organised which is why we feel there is huge scope for us in this segment.”
With online marketing gaining momentum, SAMIL has also been helping its customers through an online platform. Already introduced in the market, this platform has been receiving excellent response from the customers. The company has recently opened its 34th Automall facility, in Delhi, to add to its outlets across other major cities. Further, it has an ambitious plan to make a mark on the Indian map with 60 Automalls by the end of FY15. It also has more than 120 bidding locations pan-India to facilitate the acquisition and disposal of pre-owned vehicles and help the company stay close to its customers. SAMIL had done an average of seven thousand transactions every month in FY14, an increase of nearly 35 per cent from the previous fiscal.
Buoyed by its growing footprint across the country and its recent foray into the rapidly-growing passenger vehicle resale market, SAMIL remains bullish and focused on extending its dominance in the used-vehicle market in the country.