Apart from Maruti, Suzuki is planning on launching two more car brands in India. One of them could be Nexa. Yes, the same Nexa which currently sells premium Maruti Suzuki cars, could very well become a car brand in itself in the future. Suzuki, the parent company of Maruti, is planning on executing its biggest brand overhaul ever since it arrived in India about 35 years ago.
Back in 2015, when Maruti introduced the NEXA set of showrooms, Maruti tried to bring in a differentiated in-showroom experience to its customers. Buyers were earlier used to purchasing an Rs 3 lakh car and an Rs 10 lakh car under the same roof, with similar level of infrastructure. However, Maruti planned to bring in a more premium touch to the customer journey by introducing NEXA showrooms which came along with an up-market experience.
This exercise was done along with the launch of S-Cross which initially didn’t do very well as per Maruti standards. However, since the introduction of Baleno, NEXA showrooms have seen some mind-boggling footfall. Ignis too joined the line-up but it was the updated Ciaz which brought in additional set of bumper sales for the NEXA outlets.
But now, as per a report bu Live Mint, Suzuki is taking the Nexa branding one more step further. If the sources are to be believed, Suzuki will launch Nexa branded cars in India. This will be a similar exercise which has been carried out by global brands. For example Toyota has Lexus, Nissan has Infiniti, Hyundai has Kia and so on. Similarly, Suzuki is planning on launching Nexa as a premium brand of cars in India.
This is being done so as to maintain its lead in the market. Suzuki has laid out plans which will help them maintain their 50% market share in the Indian auto industry. And as per the report, launching two new sub brands is part of that plan. Suzuki may also use Nexa brand to sell the Toyota cars, as per the recent deal between Toyota and Suzuki.
Customer experience via dealerships / branding is playing a huge role in influencing buyer decision. During the past 3 years, NEXA showrooms have reached almost all major cities. However, during the past few months, Maruti has upgraded its regular dealerships as well and rebranded them as Maruti Suzuki Arena dealerships. The Arena dealerships too have brought in a similar level of customer experience as that of the NEXA showrooms.
And it isn’t just the Arena dealerships, Tata Motors and Mahindra too have upgraded the infrastructure at their sales outlets. To stay ahead of the competition, Maruti has embarked on ‘Project V2’ to further upgrade its NEXA showrooms and enhance the buying experience for customers.
Maruti will be bringing in latest digital technologies to let the potential buyers explore the cars under NEXA’s umbrella. There will also be a ‘Personalization Zone’ which will allow customers to choose accessories and customize their future cars as per their taste. Apart from new touchscreen units, NEXA showrooms will now also house VR (Virtual Reality) simulators which will provide a very different buying experience to customers. On the infrastructure front, in-house cafes and lounges at the showrooms too will be upgraded to further improve the overall feel associated with NEXA showrooms.
