MSI expects 15% of total sales to come from Nexa by 2020

New Delhi: Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India is banking on its premium retail chain Nexa to account for 15 percent of the total sales by 2020 when the company aims to sell 20 lakh units a year.

The car market leader plans to have around 400 Nexa dealerships in the next five years from 150 such outlets it expects to have by the end of this fiscal.

"By 2020, we plan to have around 400 Nexa outlets and by that time we expect these dealerships to account for 15 percent of the total sales," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) R S Kalsi told reporters here.

The company currently has 100 outlets, which accounted for 10 percent of the auto major's total sales in last six months, he added.

Going ahead, the firm expects Nexa outlets to account for 15 percent of total sales, which is around 3 lakh unit sales by 2020.

MSI started Nexa outlets last year and currently sells two models -- premium crossover S-Cross and hatchback Baleno -- through these outlets.

The company aims to end the current fiscal with 150 such dealerships.

"Currently, we have 100 Nexa outlets that cover 60 top cities in the country. Going ahead, we aim to have around 145-150 such dealerships by the end of the current fiscal," Kalsi said.

By the end of the next fiscal, the company plans to have around 250 Nexa outlets and also double the headcount from the current 2,500 to 5,000, he added.

Elaborating on the sales so far from Nexa, Kalsi said: "We have sold so far around 45,000 units from Nexa. Out of these, 28,000 units of Baleno were sold while S-Cross accounted for 17,000 units."

When asked about new models which would be sold under Nexa outlets, Kalsi said: "Suzuki has already said that it plans to launch 20 new products globally by 2020 and out which 15 will

come to India. We will evaluate at the right time as which product would go to what channel."

It is, however, understood that the company will sell its upercentoming compact SUV Vitara Brezza from its traditional outlets and not from premium Nexa dealerships.

The company also plans to have around 2,500 traditional dealerships by 2020. It currently has around 1,700 such outlets.