With the evolution of the automobile industry, many new concepts have come to be accepted and have proved successful at the global level. One such popular concept that has revolutionised the industry is the auctioning of used vehicles and equipment.
Industry experts estimate the annual value of used vehicle and equipment business (commercial vehicles, agri and construction equipment) at Rs. 75,000 crores, which is probably the size of the new vehicle business in the country today.
Despite such a huge opportunity, there is no organized platform available for buying and selling of used vehicles and equipment in the country. Identifying an opportunity and leveraging on its experience of operating in this segment for decades, the Shriram Group has launched the concept of Shriram Automall, an ideal platform for buying and selling of used and unused trucks, agricultural equipment and construction equipment.
Mr. Sameer Malhotra, CEO of Shriram Automall, says: “We sell a wide range of used and unused equipment for the construction, transportation, agricultural and other industries at our auctions. Anyone can sell items or equipment at Shriram Automall. We don’t restrict our auctions to select groups or people with a certain type of equipment. Our customers range from small independent operators to large fleet operators. Most of them are end-users, but we also sell surplus equipment for dealers and manufacturers”.
Shriram Automall recently inaugurated its first outlet on the outskirts of Chennai. It has conducted three auctions already since its launch and sold several vehicles and equipment. The Automall is a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers of second-hand/pre-owned commercial trucks, tractors, tippers and the like to meet and conclude their deal through a transparent process.
“Whether you have one item or an entire fleet to sell, Shriram Automall will take care of all the customer’s needs. We take care of every detail of the buying and selling process, including marketing, getting potential buyers and sellers, documentation, facilitating inspections, coordinating any desired refurbishing, conducting a professional sale, financing, collecting and disbursing the proceeds of sale”.
Considering the potential across India Shriram has set an ambitious plan to set up 50 such facilities strategically located on important highways across India covering a pan-India population of commercial vehicle and equipment users. The next centre is coming up at Baroda in Gujarat.
The Automall will also house Shriram One Stop, a computerized touch screen kiosk which will be a virtual Truck Bazaar, providing real time information about used commercial vehicles available for sale across India and simultaneously facilitates registration of individual buyer’s requirements. One Stop will bring more transparency while buying and selling used commercial vehicles.
The One Stop kiosks have been installed at nearly 500 locations across India and more than 4,000 transactions have taken place in March. The Automall will include Shriram New Look, wherein refurbished pre-owned commercial vehicles are put on display for buying with in-built financing options.
Shriram Automall is the perfect extension of business for Shriram Transport Finance whose core business has been financing used trucks and equipment. In the last 30 years, it has helped replace nearly 20 lakh trucks by providing affordable acquisition credit to small truck operators.
Shriram Automall is clearly set to revolutionise the commercial vehicle and the agri, construction equipment business. It provides a readymade platform for buying and selling of used vehicles, which will help fleet operators in replenishing their fleets. Typically if you look at the lifetime of a truck, say, 15 to 20 years, the vehicle changes hands every 5 to 6 years. So from a new vehicle buyer to the second or third owner, there is a buyer or seller available at every price point.
The Indian market has close to five million trucks on the roads today. Of this close to 1.5-2 million trucks are traded in the used market every year.
Shriram Automall will help in providing an organized, transparent platform for buying and selling of used vehicles and equipment.
