Shriram Transport to open 40 vehicle selling points

Shriram Transport Finance Company today said it will add 40 small outlets across the country to sell pre-owned commercial vehicles this fiscal, as well as open two large such showrooms in the coming months.

"Currently, we are operating two big showrooms, which we call as auto malls, to sell mainly pre-owned commercial vehicles (CVs). We will open two new auto malls in Gurgaon and Mumbai," Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) Deputy Managing Director Umesh Revankar told reporters here.

The auto malls will be operated by STFC and will act as a facilitator to sell CVs of different manufacturers, he added.

The existing auto malls are located in Chennai and Vadodara, he said.

In addition, the firm plans to open more such small format outlets in smaller cities across the country.

"We have just opened 10 such small outlets, which are termed as mini-malls. We have plans to open another 40 mini-malls in this financial year," Revankar said.

When asked how much the investment would be on setting up such auto malls, he said the company will not directly put in money, but its "partner investors" for each location will be responsible for installing the infrastructure.

On the possible locations for the upcoming mini-malls, STFC President AC Sinha said: "We are focusing more on the rural markets, as these malls will sell pre-owned CVs, which will be refurbished by us."

The company clocked net sales of Rs 5,341.9 crore in the 2010-11 financial year, of which about 35 per cent came from the rural areas. Its current debt stands at about Rs 30,000 crore.

"With the growth in the economy and CV segment, we are hopeful of registering a jump of at least 20 per cent in our revenue this fiscal," Sinha said.