FORTPOINT AUTOMOTIVE Adopting new strategies to tackle difficult times

With prolonged remote working and several restrictions on vehicle movement, automotive dealers have been managing with a lot of challenges over the past one year. Rajesh Rajgor shares how Eicher CV dealer Fortpoint Automotive has been grappling with the new reality given the fact that the second wave has once again brought about a fresh economic slump

- Rajesh Rajgor

The pandemic-induced slowdown has put forth a challenging scenario for automobile dealerships across the world. Indian automobile dealerships, which witnessed vehicles migrating from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms during the nationwide lockdown, also saw sales drop drastically. While the restart of operations post the unlocking did offer a glimmer of hope, the second wave has dampened the sentiments again. “It is a no-brainer that we are facing the most difficult times of our lives. Vehicle sales dropped last year in April and today the revival has been hampered again due to the ongoing restrictions on account of the second wave across the country,” says Bharat Jain, CEO, and Director, Fortpoint Automotive.

“The worst affected is Mumbai where we operate and have seen monthly sales volume drop to 600-700 units from what was a peak of over 2,000 units per month during the pre-pandemic period,” he adds. For the uninitiated, Fort point Automotive has multiple brand dealerships across the city of Mumbai, notably, Hero Motors for two-wheelers, Maruti Suzuki for four-wheelers, and Volvo-Eicher for commercial vehicles. “The company’s Managing Director and Group Head Sundeep Bafna is an automobile business entrepreneur who is very enthusiastic and has always been interested in automobile dealerships,” Jain informs.