Maruti Suzuki Partners with ALD Automotive For Expansion in Kochi

Maruti Suzuki India partnered with ALD Automotive India, the operational leasing and fleet management business line of the Societe Generale Group, for its subscription programme.

The company has also expanded its subscription programme to customers in Kochi. Maruti Suzuki Subscribe offers cars in eight other cities including Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

A customer can opt from wide choices of WagonR, Swift, Dzire, Vitara Brezza, Ertiga from Maruti Suzuki ARENA and IGNIS, Baleno, Ciaz, XL6 and S-Cross from NEXA. Additionally, the subscription plan is now available with varied mileage options of 10K, 15K, 20K and 25K km annually and 12, 24, 36 and 48-month tenures.

Customers will pay an all-inclusive monthly subscription charge starting at Rs 12,513 for Wagon R and Rs 13,324 for Ignis in Kochi (including taxes) for a tenure of 48 months. The company's other partners for subscription programme include Orix Auto Infrastructure Services and Myles Automotive Technologies.

"Subscription is a new concept for customers in India and we are encouraged by the overwhelming response in the past few months. We have received over 15,500 enquiries," said Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director for Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

"We have now expanded the programme to Kochi in addition to eight other cities. The unique initiative allows a customer to use a brand-new car without actually owning it. The customer needs to pay an all-inclusive monthly fee that comprehensively covers maintenance, 24x7 roadside assistance and insurance for the complete tenure," he said in a statement.

After the completion of subscription tenure, the customer can also opt to extend, upgrade the vehicle, or buy the car at market price.

Suvajit Karmakar, CEO and Whole-time Director at ALD Automotive India, said the main reasons for higher acceptance of subscription are that there exists a segment of consumers who want to be safe in these times as well as drive the car without the hassles of ownership like managing insurance and maintenance.

"Millennials especially are attracted to such an offering as they do not see much value when it comes to owning a depreciating asset," he said.

ALD Automotive has presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Bengaluru with an operational reach in all major cities across 22 states and three union territories.