FADA Interacts with Delegations from France and Netherlands

Two foreign delegations from France and Netherlands visited Delhi on 7th April and 11th April 2008, respectively and had interaction with FADA representatives.

Rakesh Jain, Past President, FADA made a presentation to the French delegates on 7th April at the French Embassy on auto retail scenario in India, which was followed by an engrossing interaction. Other FADA representatives present on the occasion were: Prem Bagga, President, ATAD; Manjeet Singh Kohli, CEO, North Delhi Motors, Delhi; and Gulshan Ahuja, Secretary General, FADA.

Interaction with the French delegation comprising automobile dealers and representatives of banks engaged in auto finance business revealed the following interesting facts about the auto industry and retail trade in France:

▪	Size of the new car and the used car markets in France is 2 million units and 5 million units, respectively;
▪	There are around 2000 car dealers in France;
▪	The margins on sale of new cars range from 8% to 15%;
▪	Used car business accounts for a significant part of dealership revenues, margins on used car sales being around 20%; and
▪	Manufacturers, by and large, permit multi-brand dealerships, provided separate sales areas within dealership are earmarked for different brands.

 
After the interaction, the French delegation members visited few dealerships in Delhi. The delegation members also visited two dealerships at Mumbai subsequently on 10th April 2008.

Regarding interaction with Dutch delegation, Rakesh Jain made a presentation on Indian auto retail scenario on 11th April 2008 at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi. After the presentation, a workshop was organised at the same venue at which the representatives of FADA and Dutch delegates shared their experiences. Rakesh Jain, Prem Bagga, S P Singh, Manu Jain, Bimal Jain and Gulshan Ahuja represented FADA at the workshop.

The proceedings at the workshop started with Paul De Voijs, President & MD, Volvo Car India giving an overview of his experiences in India and the business environment prevailing in this country. Voijs also touched on the culture and attitude of Indian people for the benefit of Dutch delegates. He set the ball rolling for a lively interaction between both sides. The discussion brought forth a great deal of information with regard to Dutch auto market, especially their car market.

Facts and figures relating to Netherlands Car Market and related activities

Population of Netherlands	: 16 Mn
New Car Market	: 0.45 Mn Units
Car Population	: 7.5 Mn
Car Penetration per thousand Persons	: 530
Revenues generated by new car sales and related activities	: 45-50 Bn Euros
No. of Brands in Netherlands	: 32
No. of Car Dealerships	: 2,600
Sales Margins        - New Cars        - Used Cars	: 15% : 20-25%
No. of Companies engaged in New Car Sales, Used Car Sales and the Repair & Servicing	: 8,000
No. of People engaged in auto retail, repair & service activities	: 60,000

As in France and, for that matter, other parts of Europe, used car sales activity is an integral part of automobile dealership business in Netherlands and a major ingredient of their income and profitability.

Both the French and the Netherlands delegations invited FADA office bearers and other members to visit their countries. FADA would like to build on these visits and strengthen relationships with their fellow dealers in France and Netherlands through regular exchange of information and visits.