Carmakers turn to growing fleet taxi market to push sales

The fleet taxi market in India has been growing rapidly. Sales of cars to fleet taxi operators have been growing at a much higher rate (15-20%) compared to personal cars sales (7%). As a result, carmakers have started positioning more of their models in the fleet segment.

Aggregators such as Ola and Uber have triggered a rise in demand for cars in the fleet segment. This has led to manufacturers turning to the segment to try and increase the sales of some of their slow moving models. Manufacturers like Hyundai and Renault are even offering some of their new products as fleet taxis.

Hyundai launched the Xcent compact sedan in the country just 18 months ago. The car has not been able to take on the segment-leading Maruti Suzuki Dzire. In a bid to increase its sales, the company has now started offering it in the fleet taxi and rental car space. Every month, Hyundai expects to sell about 1,500 additional units of the car with this step.

The Renault Lodgy MPV, which was launched in April this year, has also not been selling in numbers that its manufacturer would have predicted. From next month, Renault is planning to offer it in the fleet segment.

Out of the total sales of the Toyota Etios, 25% is accounted for by the fleet taxi segment. The company is planning to offer finance schemes for prospective buyers in the segment.

Source: Economic Times