Maruti Suzuki has launched a new channel of premium showrooms called the Nexa. The Maruti Nexa dealerships have been set up to offer customers a personalized and unique experience when they walk in to buy, what Maruti calls, its premium offerings. The first model to retail from the Nexa showrooms will be the upcoming S-Cross, and the company has said that it will have 100 of these premium showrooms in the next six to eight months.
To deliver an upmarket buying experience, the Maruti Nexa dealerships will focus on aspects right from design, lighting and tech used in the showroom, to loyalty programs and rewards for customers. What's beneficial is that customers can take deliveries of their cars from inside the showrooms; a specialised area has been allotted for this.
In terms of tech, managers at the Nexa outlets will have iPads that customers can use to configure their cars. They can browse through models, variants, colours, check out accessories to go along with it, and even have a look at finance schemes. Customers can also download the NEXA Owner’s App — a smartphone application that allows the user to recall service history, emergency support, accessory purchase, event updates, booking and manage service requests. The loyalty programme designed for Nexa customers is called MyNEXA, and it offers rewards through co-branded credit cards and tie-ups with other lifestyle brands.
Maruti has hired around 1,000 managers in this initial phase, and says the number will go up to 2,500 as the Nexa network expands. The brand has set a target of selling 2 million units by 2020, and premium models are likely to be big contributors to those sales. The S-Cross is slated for launch in August and will retail exclusively out of Nexa showrooms. One could also expect Maruti’s upcoming YBA compact SUV to be sold through the Nexa network.