Multi-car purchase: Need 12 vehicles for company's team in rural India

Previously we had bought Maruti Brezza diesel for the managers & Swift petrol for the executives. Now the team is expanding & we need to have more cars.

BHPian TallBoy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I manage a company in the agri-input sector. We have pan-India operations with the majority of our Sales team based out of B & C towns across the country. They travel extensively and their work takes them to villages and farmlands. Most roads that they travel on are fairly motorable and even if there is an odd plot of land that seems inaccessible, they can easily park at a distance and walk down.

We now need to augment them with some vehicles as the team is expanding. In the earlier instance, we purchased diesel Brezzas for the managers and petrol powered Swifts for some of the executives. We now have to buy 12 vehicles in the next quarter - 3 for managers and 9 for executives.

These will be self-driven vehicles and a five-seater is more than adequate. The average usage of these vehicles is around 4,000 kilometers per month for the managers and about 2,000 kilometers per month for executives. The first Brezza that we bought in November 2016, has done around 2.35 lakh kilometers and is acting up quite frequently of late.

While I wish there was a Toyota CSUV that I could go for blindfolded (I have used Innovas in succession from 2007 till date), there is none!

Which vehicles would you recommend for the managers and which ones for the executives, considering the total cost of ownership over a 4-5 year period? Our budget is a maximum of around 12-14 lakhs for the managers and 7-7.5 lakhs for the executives.

For executives, we also give them an option of using their own car and reimbursing them at a rate of Rs.9 per kilometer. If you think that would be a better option instead of the company owning a 7 lakh asset and bearing all the running costs, please suggest so. For managers, we have decided to give company-owned cars.

Thank you for the patient reading and advice.

Here's what BHPian Turbanator had to say about the matter:

Foremost, you must understand that the asset you will give to employees has to be cared for the same way they will do their own. But unfortunately, it does not happen, and you will find new cars turning into shambles down the lane.

I suggest you consider buying these in your company name and deduct the basic amount, for example, Ex-showroom prices divided into 60 instalments, without any interest/road tax or insurance. Cars will be run in the company name and maintained by the company but transferred to employees after completion of instalments. If they find EMI a little higher, they can keep a balloon payment at the time of sale. If an employee leaves early, they can pay company overheads and take the car, or in case they don't want to take the car, you can pay back a portion of the monies they paid.

This helps maintain the cars in great shape and keeps the employees engaged with you. In addition, they can use the vehicle for personal use without any hindrance and will feel proud socially.

Now, coming to what car, I don’t have much experience in this segment but can recommend you to stick either with Toyota or Maruti only. Both have strong work ethics and very tight control over the dealers.

Here's what BHPian BlackPearl had to say about the matter:

Mahindra Bolero for executives and Bolero Neo for managers will be good I believe.

Here's what BHPian AkMar had to say about the matter:

Given the usage, diesel makes sense. For the managers, you can go for Nexon or Altroz Diesel. Nexon has been in the market for long enough, so there is less to worry about Tata reliability issues.

Getting a diesel in the Executive budget will be difficult. So you can look at the Marutis here. Ignis/Swift/WagonR, you won't go wrong with any of these. If CNG is available in the areas where the vehicles are used, WagonR, Celerio CNG are your options.

Here's what BHPian chinkara had to say about the matter:

In cars, I would suggest Wagon R for executives and Bolero, Nexon or Brezza for managers. Wagon R is a very comfortable car for long drives and reasonably ok on rough roads given the price band. 20 years back I did a lot of rural marketing in the old Wagon R.

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