Maruti Suzuki Plans Leasing Out Cars To Retail Customers

Just like other car manufacturers around the country, India’s biggest automaker Maruti Suzuki is also going through hard times, with monthly sales declining drastically. Nevertheless, the carmaker is now planning to start offering its cars on lease to bring back sales up to normal. Competitors like Hyundai and Mahindra have already started leasing out their cars to retail buyers around the country. Now, Maruti Suzuki is also looking out to enter the car-leasing space as the automaker has started renting out its vehicles to businessmen, corporates and self-employed professionals. Reports suggest that this plan has been in works from more than a year now, and is being developed by a special projects team.

The new leasing plan by Maruti is still is works and is being developed by a special project team

This plan will surely bring additional revenue to the company’s dealers during these hard times. Carmakers usually tie-up with car rental start-ups like Zoomcar or Revv to offer their cars on lease. Moreover, luxury automakers like BMW or Mercedes-Benz are also offering their cars on lease to the customers. Car leasing service is a very normal practice in countries like North America and Europe. But, this service has also started getting popular in the Indian market from the last two years. This plan will also help the carmaker target urban customers who prefer leasing a car than buying them. Speaking on this, Mr Puneet Gupta, Associate Director, HIS Markit said,

 Maruti’s plans to foray into retail vehicle leasing is a well thought out strategy as some consumers don’t want the hassle of owning cars. So, leasing appears to be an excellent alternative to buying a car.

Right now, Maruti Suzuki is leasing its cars thorugh online car rental platforms

The official date regarding the launch of this leasing service is not yet revealed, but it’s confirmed that a dedicated project team has been working on this. The carmaker is already leasing its cars through car rental platform like Zoomcar, but offering car on lease via its dealerships will help both the dealer as well as the company. Maruti Suzuki has also recently partnered with a few banks like HDFC and ICIC to offer flexible finance schemes.