[Rajeevraj]

I recently visited the new Nexa in Calicut, Kerala. Had written about the experience in a post in the Baleno thread. In summary it was like any other showroom experience- average- nothing nexa about it.

Now couple of days back the SA had called. First his tone was way too casual, secondly he is asking me which car and variant I had come to look at, apparently he did not write it down, finally asked me why I did not book that day.

Overall a call that left me with a bad taste.I dont think I will ever buy a nexa car due to the experience.

[avdhesh15]

I think even Maruti has realized they messed up badly. Perhaps that's why the Brezza is going to aam aadmi Maruti showrooms. NEXA is a poor strategy and the faster MS realizes, the better it will be.

[swiftnfurious]

Did I read somewhere the NEXA SAs were recruited from premium brands? Just have a hunch a bunch of them would be from VW / Skoda / Renault? I have read similar behavior of SAs who have worked for such brands. I think "class" belongs to someone who have had a working style / upbringing like that. A brand called "Maruti" will NEVER ever be able to make a premium product (bench marking anything with the German pedigree) and will always have the traits of a budget brand!

There is a proverb in Malayalam which very much relates to this.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Did I read somewhere the NEXA SAs were recruited from premium brands? Just have a hunch a bunch of them would be from VW / Skoda / Renault? I have read similar behavior of SAs who have worked for such brands. I think "class" belongs to someone who have had a working style / upbringing like that. A brand called "Maruti" will NEVER ever be able to make a premium product (bench marking anything with the German pedigree) and will always have the traits of a budget brand!

There is a proverb in Malayalam which very much relates to this.

Most of the Nexa RMs are not even from automobile field. My Nexa RM used to work previously in a pharmacy company. But he was well trained and explained all the features. Maruti has hired people with marketing experience(need not be experienced in car sales). All these RMs were given training in 5 star hotel at Delhi before S Cross launch.

[volkman10]

Maruti's Premium Outlet is reported to show encouraging results but is early to infer its success.

Maruti Suzuki's experiment to build a separately branded dealership chain to sell premium vehicles is showing encouraging results, with the channel already accounting for more than 11% of total sales and the company projecting that volume to expand further this year

There were 95 NEXA showrooms at the last count and the company plans to open 100 more in the next 12 months. Maruti sold 17,000 units of the S Cross crossover and 23,000 Baleno premium hatchbacks through NEXA until end-December.

Here is the Nexa line up which will be seen in 2016.
1. S Cross ( 2015)
2. Baleno (2015)
3. Ciaz ( Updated- speculated March - 16 )
4. Ignis ( September -16)

While the share of NEXA outlets to Maruti's total sales volume was a mere 3.39% in September, it has expanded to 11.29% in December. In 2016, the company is expecting NEXA to contribute 15-17% to its total sales.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/50539874.cms

[jinojohnt]

My colleague from Trivandrum bought an S-cross from a Nexa showroom in Cochin, and drove all the way back home (220 km). He says that S-cross can be bought only from Nexa, but can be serviced at any MASS.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Maruti's Premium Outlet is reported to show encouraging results but is early to infer its success...

A well priced product will sell through either dealership. Add to it, there is nothing premium about the Baleno at all. It's S-Cross which is supposedly a better product & it flopped indicating Maruti's premium strategy didn't work at all!

Rather they should conduct a survey with all those who have been in the NEXA showroom on their pre-sales experience. That would give an idea whether this was successful. At least, a lot of us know the answer already.

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

My colleague from Trivandrum bought an S-cross from a Nexa showroom in Cochin, and drove all the way back home (220 km). He says that S-cross can be bought only from Nexa, but can be serviced at any MASS.

That's right; the NEXA strategy is only from a sales perspective. You could ask your friend to to check the MA$$ - I read NEXA products have priority treatment for service.

[arnabchak]

Visited the Turbhe Nexa with a friend who was looking to buy the Baleno.

Here are my observations:

1) I found the reception cold. Right from the security till the reception, we felt unwelcome. The security kept on tying tags to keys and did not hear until I had to shout into his ears and enquired where I could park my car.

Then comes the most hilarious part.
On entering the Showroom, the receptionist was busy with something.

On seeing us, she enquired "Sir, Have you come to check for a new car"

What was she expecting?
That we come for our daily grocery shopping at Nexa??

2) The sales person allotted wasnt interested in selling at all. Before even saying that we had come for the Baleno, he "upfront" states, Sir, Baleno has a minimum 5 months waiting!!!

The car is no doubt good. But the staff are not trained well.
This showroom reeked of indifference.

3) The Test Drive

I will not focus on the test drive but more on the experience!!
Baleno Zeta Petrol first.

The test drive car and the co drivers door stays locked. They cant open it.
So, I sit behind the driver and enjoy the ride.

Baleno Zeta Diesel

Better drive, better power.
But the SA alloted for the TD was busy on his phone all the time, explaining the features of a Ford Figo Titanium to one of his ex clients and comparing it with Baleno.

Hilarious to say the least.

It has been a sub par experience and I actually found that the normal Maruti showroom provided me more warmth and I felt comfortable there.

[amit]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Maruti Suzuki's experiment to build a separately branded dealership chain to sell premium vehicles is showing encouraging results, with the channel already accounting for more than 11% of total sales and the company projecting that volume to expand further this year

Is sales the only criteria Maruti is using to judge Nexa's performance or viability? A premium brand is more then just sales. In fact, I would say the intangibles are more important in judging how good a premium brand or experience is actually working and yes these intangibles do take time to develop. Today what is Nexa's USP? Better customer experience? Premium cars over Maruti? From what members are reporting customer experience is patchy depending more on individual outlets or sales persons then on Nexa training. I have checked out the Baleno and though I liked it the car didn't feel premium in the way a Polo or a i20 does from the inside. What about engines? Baleno has the same Swift engines, doesn't a premium car deserve better engines?

I have a feeling Maruti tried the premium trick with the S cross and it flopped. I don't think price was the only reason for the S cross's failure but this probably spooked the Nexa owner's who wanted a volume car to sustain themselves and get some decent return on their investments. Could it be that both Nexa owner's & Maruti felt that they didn't have the brand pull to sell a car costing over a million bucks consistently and the result was the Baleno with the same 1.2L petrol and 1.3L 75ps diesel engine from Swift?

A booster jet Baleno with a dual clutch gearbox would be perfect. If VW could do it with the Polo TSi, why can't Maruti with the Baleno?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by amit

.......If VW could do it with the Polo TSi, why can't Maruti with the Baleno?

The million dollar question!

And the answer probably lies in the mindset. If the most maligned brand in the market is willing to risk launching a premium product (by Indian standards), what's really holding back the market leader? Even if they fail, they can always rely on their bread & butter models to bring in the moolah.

Lots of people have said over the years that customers perceive Maruti as a cheap, mass-market hatchback maker and haven't given their better products a fair shake. I don't believe that anymore. It's Maruti that's got the mind-block. There's nothing premium about either the Nexa experience or the products under the umbrella. Same old stuff with some bells & whistles added/removed here or there. All a bit 'Meh!' ultimately, and Maruti have nobody to blame but themselves.

[SRK]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

Visited the Turbhe Nexa with a friend who was looking to buy the Baleno..
..It has been a sub par experience and I actually found that the normal Maruti showroom provided me more warmth and I felt comfortable there.

This is what many including me have experienced at the other Nexa outlets in Mumbai.

The regular Maruti I visited just next to the NEXA showroom under the same dealer management had better attitude and were more responsive.

I went to the Maruti dealership to inquire about the upcoming Vitara Breeza and while there is no info about it still the sales guy did note down my contact details unlike at NEXA where no one even bothers to approach you while you are standing holding a signed cheque in your hand.

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki to open their 100th Nexa outlet in India on January 22 nd.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that they will inaugurate a new Nexa dealership in Mumbai on January 22. Nexa Andheri East will be their 100th Nexa outlet in India and will set up a total of 250 Nexa outlets by the end of the next financial year.

http://www.carwale.com/news/21529-ma...anuary-22.html

[SRK]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Maruti Suzuki to open their 100th Nexa outlet in India on January 22 nd.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that they will inaugurate a new Nexa dealership in Mumbai on January 22. Nexa Andheri East will be their 100th Nexa outlet in India and will set up a total of 250 Nexa outlets by the end of the next financial year.

http://www.carwale.com/news/21529-ma...anuary-22.html

The Andheri East outlet was functional much before the official launch on 22 Jan. I had myself visited it after the launch of Baleno and they were even delivering vehicles in December.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by SRK

The Andheri East outlet was functional much before the official launch on 22 Jan. I had myself visited it after the launch of Baleno and they were even delivering vehicles in December.

One Sunday morning, I saw enough parking space to park my car just outside Nexa showroow (angular parking). As I was about to step out a 2 guys come rushing and ask me if I am visiting their showroom. I say No. Then they tell me, its "reserved" for Nexa. What ?!!
I was not amuzed, yet to play the game, I told them OK, lets take a test drive They were not ready to budge. Kept telling me its "reserved for Nexa"

I yell back at them saying its public road, they don't even own the footpath forget the road! They didn't know what to say but kept arguing that "Sahab Ka Gaadi aayega". I was like.. who the hell is you "Sahab" and why does he need to park on the road when he owns a car showroom !! (I know its a bad argument, but I was being sarcastic).
I would have really liked to park there and create a ruckus and show them their place. I was about to call 100 and report the matter.

But, I had to attend a weeding in the adjacent compound and didn't want to leave the car there for the fear of it being vandalized by the staff. Plus the wedding hall had valet parking (I avoid Valet as far as possible).

I had almost forgot about this incident, but Nexa and Andheri East reminded me of it.

[arch_hornet]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

What they have done is employed people from different fields where they have no idea is what a car buyer basically looks like.

They being from different industries, if one questions them a bit hard the response is "Sir, we are learning and please give me a moment, I'll clarify with my superiors and get back to you!"

Not that it is wrong but they aren't able to handle the crowd currently and with limited number of NEXA's in the country, it will be a choc-o-bloc once the Ciaz shares the showroom floors.

This is indeed strange.

Why would a brand like Maruti Suzuki hire people from different fields for their "premium" offerings? I mean, wouldn't it have made more sense if they had selected the top-performing SA's from their current crop and "promoted" them (better packages, better offices, etc) to NEXA from regular Maruti dealerships? That would have helped their sales, made sure that the domain expertise is retained and would also have boosted the morale of the existing SA's, IMO. And that, I feel, would have resulted in a very healthy experience for the customers - the premium NEXA showroom visitors would have been handled by the best of Maruti's SA's, and the ones in the regular showrooms would have an opportunity to perform better for a better career growth (do better and you could be promoted to NEXA).

Originally Posted by GKR9900

First of all, there's no separate badging for Nexa cars. They're still branded as Suzuki. It's just the Nexa experience they are focusing on, which is pretty much limited to the showroom premises. Out on the streets, it's still a Suzuki. If Maruti was aiming at something similar to Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura, they should've branded those premium offerings as a separate badge.

Absolutely agree with this. A premium car should be seen as one on the roads as well. With the same badging on a Baleno and on a Swift, I for one wouldn't feel anything premium if I owned the Baleno. A different badge/brand marketing the cars sold by NEXA would probably have helped.