Used-car seller Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd (MFCWL) has seen almost 100 per cent growth in premium car sales.
Its sales in the premium category of price range between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh doubled over the last fiscal.
This was almost six per cent of 46,000 units sold in FY13, a top company official said. Premium used cars contributed to three per cent of its total sales in 2011-12.
According to Yatendra Chadha, Vice-President, Operations and Network, this segment is going to see further growth mainly driven by “increasing brand consciousness” and easy availability of such cars.
The company expects nearly 30 per cent growth in the current fiscal by adding about 100 outlets across the country. Currently, it has 255 outlets in 162 cities.
“We have been seeing an increase in demand since people prefer to spend less in an uncertain economy and live a quality life at the same time,” Chadha said after inaugurating the 10th outlet in Kolkata.
The total used-car market is pegged at 1.3 million units as of now.
Interestingly, he added, the company witnessed about five per cent increase in petrol car sales between January and April 2013. “We expect to see that number going up further during the current fiscal,” Chadha said.
He attributed less depreciation compared to diesel cars as one of the main reasons behind this trend.
ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in