Dear Friends,

As the year 2022 draws to close, auto retail community hopes that the new year rings in good luck sustaining the increased traction in the market being experienced in the last few months. I pray that economy continues to grows with all sectors making remarkable progress, thus providing more employment keeping in line with Hon’ble PM of India’s vision of ‘Amrit Kaal’. For the growth of new India, we need to ensure inclusive development across the nation.

To begin with, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Soham Misra, Executive Committee Member and State Chairperson – FADA West Bengal to have organised a meeting with the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji at the Rashtrapati Bhawan for inviting her to grace the Auto Summit. Though she will not be attending the event, she has sent her best wishes for a successful Summit.

During the month, we had the opportunity to have a follow-up meeting on Model Dealer Agreement with Senior officials at MG Motors. FADA team was led by Mr Sai Giridhar, Secretary; Mr Nikunj Sanghi, Past President; & Mr Saharsh Damani, CEO. The meeting was very positive & we are hopeful that MG Motors will implement most of the points as mentioned in our MDA.

FADA has now started getting international speaker invites. Myself and Mr Vinkesh Gulati, Chairman, FADA Research & Academy, spoke at the London EV Show 2022 held from November 29, 2022 to December 1, 2022 on the present and Future of EVs in India. We had an opportunity to interact & deliberate with global experts in this field.

Coming to State Activities, FADA Odisha Chapter Members organised Odisha Leadership Team Summit at Mayfair Bhubaneswar. Myself along with Mr. Saharsh Damani - CEO FADA attended this meet. Over 50 dealers including 13 Regional Directors attended the same. During the meeting, dealer members discussed their concerns, business challenges and upcoming opportunities. Such interactions are very important as it promotes unity & comradeship amongst the dealer community. I strongly recommend that Chairpersons of all State Chapters should initiate such events in their State so that our State Chapter remains well-oiled and geared up for any challenge. Post Odisha Leadership Team Summit, along with Odisha State Chairperson Mr. Pradeep Agarwal and other Regional Directors, we met Mr. Arun Bothra, Additional DGP CID- CB & Transport Commissioner, Odisha. Mr. Bothra assures his full support to Auto Retail community and also agreed to have FADA representative on State Road Safety committee.

FADA Rajasthan Chapter Members along with Secretary FADA met Principal Secretary, Transport & Home, Rajasthan. The meeting was fruitful and the dealers were assured that all their concerns would be looked into & resolutions worked out.

I am happy to share that the 12th Auto Summit on the theme: Fit & Future Ready will be held on January 13, 2023 at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi and will aim to address the need of Automobile Retail Industry to gear itself in post pandemic times; on preparedness required for facing disruptions due to the advent of newer technologies, changes in distribution model, advent of new fuels & other such concerns to remain viable & healthy.

On these lines power sessions have been planned with experts from the industry. The full day event, will keep you engaged in a fruitful way & which will lead to many takeaways for everyone from the curated sessions.

The day will begin with the inaugural session. Shri Om Birla, Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker has confirmed to be with us during the Inaugural Session as our Chief Guest. Shri Narayan Tatu Rane, Hon’ble Minister for MSME will be our Guest of Honour.

There will be many initiatives which FADA will launch in the 12th edition of the Auto Summit which includes- a) Promotion of Green Initiative by auto dealer community across the country by taking an oath and plant 2 Crore saplings every year i.e. distribute saplings with every sale of a vehicle; b) Launching of Buckle- Up Campaign Videos to promote road safety which will run at dealerships across the country as part of road safety awareness campaign; and c) Recognize & Honour women in auto retail business, by releasing The Coffee Table Book on Women in Automobile Industry.

For the first time, FADA will be releasing a White Paper on our event theme, Fit & Future Ready. This is being released in association with Nomura Research Consulting.

Apart from this, there are separate sessions for each segment of auto retail business which will have representations from the OEMs, Bankers, Dealer community - to deliberate & find resolutions for the segment specific issues.

We shall also be having a Motivational Session by Mr Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach, Indian Badminton Team who would speak on the theme of the Auto Summit – Fit & Future Ready to boost the morale of the auto retail community.

I would like to congratulate our Dealer Brother Mr. Sanjay Thakker - Chairman & Founder of Group Landmark for successfully going the IPO route and getting listed a few days back. While this is a small step in the IPO world as many companies gets listed day in and day out, but it is a giant leap for the Indian Auto Retail business as it will help all of us realize our business’s real worth.

Taking this as a subject, the Summit will also have a Session on Auto Retail: Unlocking the Value - Road Towards Public Offer, as more dealerships today are wanting to unlock their dealership value for better valuation of their business, better public image, for raising capital & enhance credibility. Therefore, this session will help to provide a better understanding of what needs to be done to unlock our Dealership’s value.

I am happy to share that we have had an overwhelming response from all of you towards registering yourself for the Summit. I request all those who have not yet registered themselves to please register as only limited seats are left to be filled. In all probability, due to paucity of seats, onsite registrations may not be possible. This is in spite of going for a larger venue for holding the Summit this time.

All registrants to the Auto Summit will be provided with complimentary pass to visit the Auto Expo on 12th January, 2023 which FADA along with SIAM has kept exclusively for automobile dealers & press. It also happens to be the Inaugural Day of the Expo. Dealer Day at the Expo grounds will provide you with an opportunity to gauge the new launches planned by the OEMs & also allow you to interact with them. As like last time, FADA Lounge has been especially set-up for the dealer friends visiting the Expo. Our Lounge location is Hall No 5, Stall No. E19A (Closest entry from Gate 2). You must visit the Lounge to know more about your Federations activities/ initiatives and refresh yourself over a cup of tea/coffee with light snacks. Do not forget to click your pic at the Selfie Booth.

Post Auto Summit, FADA will be taking a delegation of its members to attend NADA Convention which is being held at Dallas from January 26-29. Around 15 Dealer Principals have registered themselves. Those having valid US visa & interested, may please write a mail to [email protected] . All assistance will be provided for helping you to register yourself to the convention. On the side-lines, we are also working with NADA for arranging dealership visit which will definitely provide a huge learning opportunity.

With this, I wish you & your teams - Season’s Greetings & A Very Happy 2023!

Happy Year End Selling,

Warm Regards,
Manish Raj Singhania
President - FADA