With its growing demand for luxury products and distinctive experiences, Auto majors brands in India are eager to shift their focus toward more emerging preferences. The new retail formats are no more confined to traditional showrooms, and the evolution of car-buying experience brings with it a premium, immersive experience for customers. Here, we discuss the reasons for this shift, approaches of the key players, and its impact on India’s luxury car market.
Increasing Demand for Premium Experience
India’s high-end market is growing very strongly because of the rise of more disposable income, change in taste among consumers, as well as a demand for customized and bespoke products. Notwithstanding an essentially cautious automobile market, luxury retail continues to grow, as car brands adapt by creating more sophisticated, experiential retail environments. This trend is in stride with Maruti, Tata Motors, Hyundai, JSW MG Motor, and Mercedes-Benz in luxury retailing.
Auto Majors Luxury Showrooms: Curating the Brand Experience
While car brands are updating their product lines, they are not shy about recreating their retail spaces-transforming them from a showroom into an immersive lifestyle destination. The idea behind these modern retail spaces is to provide immersive brand experiences, in-depth consultations by well-trained staff, and experiences each time, uniquely customized,” says Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. Brands can reach consumers more personally, which will help the brands build loyalty as well as exclusivity.
Maruti and Tata: Pioneers in Premium Retail Spaces
The Indian subsidiary of Maruti Suzuki reserved special retail formats that solely sell only the premium products in India. Since its launch, its Nexa format of selling the premium experience saw very great success. Following its predecessor, Tata Motors ‘introduced ‘Tata Gold’ lounges and individual specialty stores for its premium-range models, which give up a special, high-end buyer experience.
Mid-range brands are catching the premiumization wave. Hyundai and JSW MG Motor are some of the mid-range brands that are riding the premiumization wave. Hyundai is setting up its Genesis brand to create a luxury retail experience, mostly targeting high-end buyers who would look for all things high-end minus the brand loss. JSW MG Motor has also introduced the ‘MG Select’ format elevated experience with accessible luxury blended with a personal touch for customers willing to pay that little extra for enhanced quality and service.
Auto Majors Luxury Brands Stretch It Even Further
Mercedes-Benz Lexus and similar luxury brands are creating extremely specialized spaces for elite customers. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, has premium showrooms especially designed for AMG customers who can get one-to-one consultations from trained salespersons. Lexus, a luxury brand owned by Toyota, has established ‘Guest Experience Centres’ in cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Here, the customers experience the brand ethos within a refined atmosphere. These help brands provide a well-designed brand experience in the bounds of their high-value customer’s desires.
Auto majors Premium Retail for Two-Wheelers:
Two-wheeler brands are also getting into this trend, as luxury retail formats are not exclusive to four-wheelers. Hero MotoCorp launched its ‘Premia’ range of bikes co-developed with Harley-Davidson to cater to the bike enthusiast in search of premium quality and performance. Royal Enfield, as a precursor to premium bikes, got its showrooms repositioned as lifestyle destinations where one can shop for high-end accessories, riding gear, and apparel besides premium bikes.
Conclusion: The Car Retail of India Emerges
Big changes are coming to India’s automobile market as premium automobile brands seek to respond to the rising tide of demand for luxury products with premium retail formats. Beyond customer experience, this also carries a more profound implication towards global trends embracing personalized and immersive retail spaces. Luxury in the automobile space may just hold the equation to rewriting the script in auto retailing in India as the market expands here.
FAQs
1. Why are auto brands investing in the premium retail formats of India?
Auto brands are focusing on premium retail formats because there’s a growing demand for luxury experiences in the country. The formats offer deeply immersive, exclusive spaces for high-end consumers searching for a personally fulfilling, unique experience.
2. What’s in it for premium retail for a customer?
The premium retail formats provide an experience of an upscale, immersive environment wherein customers receive personalized attention from very well-trained staff. This enhances the buying experience, as customers receive customized recommendations and an aura of being exclusive.
3. Which Auto majors companies have launched premium showrooms in India?
Maruti’s Nexa, Tata Motors, Hyundai’s Genesis, and JSW MG Motor’s MG Select have launched luxury retail formats. Luxury car makers also built premium retailers, and curatespaces for the luxury buyers have been created in the brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
4. Which of the following best describes the features of Mercedes-Benz’s premium retail spaces?
The premium spaces by Mercedes-Benz for the AMG line have been conceptualized with consultation and immersive experiences that have been offered to customers with highly trained staff for serving high-end customers.
5. How are the two-wheeler brands like Hero MotoCorp and Royal Enfield responding to premiumization?
Hero MotoCorp launched the ‘Premia’ range, which it was producing in collaboration with Harley-Davidson, and Royal Enfield opened lifestyle showrooms. The brands offer specific accessories, riding gear, and performance bikes for a rich experience.
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