Hm Plans Exchange Scheme For Lancer

Hindustan Motors is planning to offer an exchange scheme to allow customers swap an old Mitsubishi Lancer for a new one. The company is currently giving final touches to the initiative, aimed at retaining the 22,000-odd existing customers of the Lancer, who want to buy a new car.

The company has initiated a pilot project in New Delhi, and is planning to repeat it in other cities, including Mumbai.

Although the used cars will be displayed along with the new cars at the same dealer network, the showroom space will be demarcated to separate the two.

S Vasudevan, general manger (sales and service) of Hindustan Motors, said: "We should announce the brand name for the programme shortly. Even if only 5-10 per cent of existing customers decide to go for the scheme, it would result in additional sales of at least 1,000 units. While Hindustan Motors will offer the assistance to dealers under the programme, the dealers and the financiers will share the financial risk."

Analysts said the effort was aimed at retaining customers, who have owned a Lancer for about three years, and are looking at buying a new car. "After the recent launches of the D-segment cars -- Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord -- existing customers of the C-segment cars might easily switch to them. Hence, the company faces the need to come up with an attractive exchange scheme to retain a portion of its existing customers, since it does not have any offering in the D-segment."