New Delhi: Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India on Friday rolled out its Retail of the Future (ROTF) model where it will sell cars directly to the customers.
The company announced the ‘direct to customer’ model in June this year and claims to have received 1,700+ units of customer booking through the ROTF in the beta phase since October 1, 2021. It has invested INR 60 crore for this initiative and India becomes the fourth market to roll out ROTF, after South Africa, Sweden and Austria.
According to the carmaker, the retail initiative will offer complete transparency in the purchase process, higher stock visibility, central order management and no liability for the franchise partners.
Customers will not have to pay any incidental charges for their purchase anymore. They will now have direct access to national stock giving them a higher visibility to select their desired products from across markets, said the company statement.
The carmaker highlighted that ROTF will be applicable only for new car sales and will not alter the functioning of separate business lines including customer service, pre-owned cars and allied businesses. “All franchise partners of Mercedes-Benz India have collaborated in implementing ‘ROTF’ in India, sharing the company’s ‘customer centric’ outlook and co-creating a future-ready business model,” it said.
Martin Schwenk, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “Today, we are proud to implement the ‘Retail of the Future’ in India after successfully establishing a robust digital backbone, which will support this significant transition in our retail business. ROTF is a unique customer centric business model, which caters to the evolving trends of our customers, while empowering our Franchise Partners by significantly reducing their financial and operational risks in the market.”
“ROTF is a step in the right direction in getting closer to our customers, and a result of listening to their wishes and evolving requirements. As the most trusted luxury brand in the country, we have set a new standard in customer centricity, a new benchmark in Franchise Partners’ profitability and introduced a new culture of competing only for the best customer experience,” he said.
Dealers turn ‘franchisee partners’ under the new retail model. With the sales model changing, all 23 of them, in 95 locations, will focus more on customers’ “needs & wishes” and compete to earn an incentive from the OEM, the carmaker said.
The company said that customers can book a car by paying INR 50,000 and then the order completion should occur over the next 14 days. For the first time in India, VIN number will be confirmed with order booking thus ensuring complete transparency. For order finalisation, an instant e-mail confirmation will be sent once the documents are verified and confirmed with Mercedes-Benz, as the car makes its way to the franchise partner. This process will be followed through end-to-end data security.
Upon payment realization within seven days, the final invoice from Mercedes-Benz will reach the customer. The franchise partner will then deliver the car at the customer’s doorstep or delivery at the showroom.
Mercedes Benz also said it has introduced an exclusive Digital Commerce Platform (DCP), an Online Store to book the car online.
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