Citroen Nomadic Showroom could help the brand get more visibility in cities where there are no dealerships.

In addition to dealerships in 10 cities across the country, Citroen will also have a mobile showroom. This showroom on wheels will be called Citroën Nomadic Showroom.

In its first phase, Citroen has opened 10 La Maison showrooms in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Cochin and Kolkata. The showrooms are equipped with 3D configurators that will enable customers to customise their cars. A mobile showroom will give the brand more visibility in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

The brand's first offering will be the C5 Aircross SUV which is based on the PSA EMP2 platform. The C5 Aircross will be powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing 174 BHP @ 3,750 rpm and 400 Nm @ 2,000 rpm. The engine will be paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The SUV rides on Citroen's Progressive Hydraulic Cushions suspension.

The SUV will be assembled using completely knocked down (CKD) kits at Citroen's Thiruvallur facility in Tamil Nadu.

Thanks to BHPian Venkatesh for sharing this with other enthusiasts.

Customers have been asked to take the cars that had come in for service back.

Autobahn Enterprises Private Limited is no longer the authorized dealer of Skoda India. As a result, retail and after sales services have ceased from January 26, 2021.

Skoda has sent out an email to customers to notify them regarding the closure of the dealership. The company has also asked customers to take the cars that had come in for aftersales service back.

Cars that are yet to be serviced will be shifted to the nearest dealership (Modi India Cars Pvt. Ltd.). The company has also requested permission for the same from the customers. Customers would also have to be present when their cars are being shifted.

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

In the first phase, Citroen has set up its La Maison showrooms in 10 cities.

Citroen has opened 10 showrooms in 10 cities as it gears up to foray into the Indian market.

In the first phase, Citroen has set up its La Maison showrooms in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Cochin and Kolkata. The showrooms are equipped with 3D configurators that will enable customers to customise their cars.

Citroen plans to launch its first product in the Indian market later this year. The French brand will kick things off with the unveiling of the India-spec C5 Aircross SUV on February 1, 2021.

The C5 Aircross is based on the PSA EMP2 platform. It will be powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing 178 BHP and will be offered with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The SUV will be assembled using completely knocked down (CKD) kits at Citroen's Thiruvallur facility in Tamil Nadu.

The company has added a total of more than 120 new sales and service touchpoints across the country last year.

Renault has announced that it has added more than 40 new sales and service touchpoints across India in the month of December. The company is making preparations for the launch of the Kiger crossover. Renault will be globally premiering the Kiger in India on January 28, 2021. It will be launched in the B-segment which accounts for more than 50% of the total industry sales.

The new dealership facilities are located in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi NCR, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. With this step, the company has added a total of more than 120 new sales and service touchpoints across the country last year. The move also means that Renault has expanded its network presence to more than 500 sales and over 475 service touchpoints, which include over 200 Workshop On Wheels locations across the country.

The newly inaugurated dealership facilities have been designed according to the Renaultstore concept, which highlights the value of the Renault brand, products, services and accessories in a modern manner. All showrooms and workshop, are being completely sanitised every day before they are opened for customers. There is a mandatory health screening for all dealership employees, and only post that, employees are allowed to start their work.

All dealerships are advised to maintain daily monitoring, social distancing, periodic temperature checks, and regular sanitization of staff, customers, meeting rooms and test drive fleet. Masks and sanitizers are also advised to be made available across all showrooms and workshops.

There is even a private sales suite that offers complete discretion for the sales process.

The first Porsche Studio in India is now open for customers. Porsche's latest interactive showroom is located at Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Porsche Studio is a new showroom concept that is different from traditional car showrooms. The lifestyle boutique store has LED screens that will feature the latest Porsche models. The showroom also has a dedicated Configuration Lab and Trimming Area with large interactive screens.

In the E-Performance booth, customers are also provided with information on Porsche's latest hybrid and electric models like the upcoming Taycan.

The Driver's Club has large panorama screens to watch the latest videos from Porsche. There is also a private sales suite that offers complete discretion for the purchase process with a personal consultant.

When we asked him, he said that they had influenced the RTO and managed to register the car without Insurance.

hvishwanathan recently shared this with other BHPians.

We happened to have a very bad experience with the Renault authorized showroom in Juhu, Mumbai. My brother-in-law, a doctor by profession, booked his first car, a Renault Kwid with the dealership in December 2020. The car was scheduled to be delivered in January since he wanted the registration to be done in 2021.

A week before the delivery of the vehicle, the sales person from the dealership called him stating that he needs to visit the RTO and sign some papers and his presence in the RTO is a must. My brother-in-law hails from Madhya Pradesh and has been living on rent in Mumbai since the last couple of years since he is practising in Mumbai. He has had no issues in the past with regards to residence proof because his registered rental agreement is accepted as a local address proof by all authorities. The dealer asked him to pay Rs. 7,000 saying he has to pay the RTO officials and without which, his agents might not be able to get the registration done. He also mentioned that my BIL (Brother in Law) needs to visit the RTO again for meeting the RTO agent. At this point my BIL called me and asked me if this is a standard process. When I went on a conference call with him and the dealer, I questioned him asking him why this process was being followed. He said it is a standard process. When we told him that we are sorry and we cant keep visiting RTOs and it is his job to get the paperwork and the registration work done since we are paying him the charges he had quoted as per his initial quote, he said he will try. After some time, he said he has managed with the RTO officials and we can collect the car the very next day, which was a Sunday (10th Jan 2021).

On the day of delivery, things were smooth initially. We were explained the details/features of the car, the aarti/pooja was done, and when the paperwork was given, we were told everything except insurance was there and that they will give us the insurance the next day. We were reluctant and said we will not take the delivery without insurance. They made us wait for almost 2 hours and they were clueless on how to handle the situation. We insisted they give it written on their letterhead that if anything happens to the car, they will be responsible. They said they cannot give that in writing. They said they can only provide on a plain A4 size paper, a letter stating that if any cop catches us and fines us for the insurance, they will bear those charges. Things were very fishy and we were kept in the dark as to what the real problem is. They said they will provide us the insurance the next day.

Also when we were about to leave the dealership, we saw the battery light blinking. How come a new car which has run 31 km has the battery light on ? The service person checked the car but didn't have any clue as to why the light was on. Didn't they check this during their PDI?

The next day, the sales guy sends us the insurance copy. To our horror, we saw that the insurance was dated 11th January. When we spoke to the dealer, he was clueless and he said he will check and get back to us. Till date, he has not called us or informed us on why they kept telling us a lie. If the car was registered on 8th Jan 2021, how was it registered without valid insurance? When we asked him, he said that they had influenced the RTO and managed to register the car without Insurance. So our car was being driven around without insurance even before delivery? And what if there was a mishap on the day we got the delivery and got the car home? What if it was stolen? All these questions in our head but the dealer had no answer.

I would highly recommend reconsidering buying a car from this dealership who does not value customers sentiments and a feeling that its the customer's first car. The whole experience has left us in such a bad taste.

Thanks to hvishwanathan once again! Check out BHPian comments for more insights & information.

Ather has also commenced deliveries of its Series 1 electric scooter in Mumbai.

Ather Energy has opened its first showroom in Mumbai. It is located on Linking Road in the suburb of Bandra.

Mumbai is the third city after Bangalore and Chennai to get an Ather Space showroom. The company plans to open similar showrooms in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad as well.

With the inauguration of the new showroom, Ather has also commenced deliveries of its Series 1 electric scooter in Mumbai. The Series 1 gets translucent body panels in the rear. The e-scooter is finished in a high-gloss metallic black colour with red accents. It comes equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen instrument console that has a special intro screen and different UI theme.

The 450X Series 1 comes with a 6 kW electric motor that is powered by a 2.9 kWh lithium-ion battery. It has four riding modes - Eco, Ride, Sport, and a high-performance 'Warp' mode. The e-scooter is claimed to accelerate from 0-40 km/h in 3.3 seconds.

Ather electric scooters are currently available in 11 cities - Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, and Kolkata.

One of the first Citroen showrooms in the country is coming up in Naraina, Delhi.

As Citroen prepares to launch its first product in India next year, the carmaker seems to have started setting up its dealer network. One of the first Citroen showrooms in the country is coming up in the Naraina area of Delhi.

The dealership is located at Paris Motocorp, Naraina Industrial Area Phase 1, Delhi. The building is still under construction and has a large signboard outside.

Citroen will foray into the Indian market with the C5 Aircross. Between 2021 and 2023, the French brand plans to launch four models. The upcoming C3 Sporty crossover will be important for the company as it will be its first mass market offering.

Reports suggest that Citroen will not launch diesel mass market cars in India. However, the C5 Aircross premium SUV will get a 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Thanks to Ashutosh Mittal for sending this image in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

AYL Mitsubishi will provide genuine spare parts and on-site break down services.

Mitsubishi Motors has appointed M/s AYL Motors Pvt. Ltd. as the brand's authorized dealer for the Pune region.

AYL Mitsubishi is located at S. No. 80/2A/1. Laigude Wearhousing And Leasing, Tathawade on the Mumbai-Pune highway. 

The facility is equipped to service the entire range of Mitsubishi cars including the Pajero, Pajero Sport, Outlander, Lancer, Cedia, Lancer Evolution X and Montero. On-site break down services are also available.

Customers can contact the dealership via phone (+91 89560 21111), email (service@aylmotors.com) or website.

OEM-dealer agreements are skewed towards manufacturers.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) headed by Dr. K Keshava Rao has recommended that the Government of India should introduce a Franchise Protection Act for car dealerships.

India does not have a Franchise Law, which is why agreements between OEMs and dealers often favour the former. This leads to short term agreements with no clear exit policy.

There have been instances where vehicle brands have suddenly announced their exit from India leaving dealers in jeopardy. Almost all dealerships are privately owned proprietorship or family owned businesses and find it difficult to stand up against big corporations. Therefore, a Franchise Protection Act is said to be the need of the hour.

A Franchise Act is also expected to benefit customers in the long run. Dealerships will be able to offer necessary services, while also providing stable employment.

Countries like the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Albania, Russia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Italy, Sweden, and Belgium already have rules in place to protect franchisees.