Dear Friends,

I am happy to state that after successfully holding of the 12th edition of Auto Summit on January 13, 2023 at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi, FADA took a 12-member delegation to attend NADA convention 2023 to Dallas. This time the Convention was from January 26 to January 29.

The FADA delegation was headed by Mr Sai Giridhar, Secretary, FADA. The delegation included Mr Amar Jatin Sheth, Treasurer FADA; Mr John K Paul, Past President FADA and dealer principals from across India. I am also happy to share that amongst the delegation, we had 2 women entrepreneurs Ms Rashmi Kale from Chhattisgarh & Ms Sheela Niwal from Maharashtra.

Here I wish to express my sincere thanks & gratitude to NADA officials for making special arrangements for FADA delegates as made in the past. You would be delighted to know, that as part of Dealership visit, NADA arranged for a Passenger Vehicle dealership visit on side-lines of the convention. FADA delegates along with Brazilian dealers visited the Southwest Ford, a dealership owned by Mr Charlie Gilchrist who in 2019 was NADA Chairman. This provided an insight to the dealership working in US.

On 26th January, the delegates participated in the International Roundtable organised by NADA in which presentations were made by delegates representing dealer associations viz CECRA, Europe; AADA, Australia; CADA, Canada; ALADDA, Latin America; AECDR, Europe; FADA, India and NADA, USA. It was a huge learning experience. From FADA, Mr Sai Giridhar made a presentation regarding auto retail industry in India & our efforts is getting Auto Dealer Protection Act & Model Dealer Agreement implemented in the country to provide a level playing field to dealers in India.

Mr Sai Giridhar, Mr Amar Jatin Sheth & Mr John K Paul also joined the Industry Relations Luncheon hosted by NADA on January 27, 2023 & International Relations Dinner hosted by Australian Automobile Dealers Association on January 28, 2023. Members of the Brazilian Dealers Association also met up with FADA delegates. All the interactions were very informative & members really enjoyed the visit.

The scale of the NADA show is huge and is held annually and sees a huge participation of dealers, vendors, and the entire auto community from within USA and across the world. Thus, making it a great learning for all the participants as exchange of ideas & best practices takes place. The Convention center has huge exhibition hall with setups of which three categories stood out. These were:

A) Stalls put up by software vendors- CRM, DMS etc. catering to the full dealership operations, this is because the dealerships in USA have the power to choose their own software without any compulsion from the manufacturer.

B) Stalls put up by warranty management. There were a few vendors catering to a niche of warranty management providing rates of the warranty charges in the market which depends on various parameters; benchmarking it; and providing information to the dealer to enable him to negotiate with the manufacturer for an increase.

C) Stalls put up by dealerships wanting to trade their dealership in the market: showing that such transactions happened frequently in the USA & there was a market for it as well. This was a novel experience for many of the Indian delegates visiting the Convention for the first time and this could be an aspiration for many dealers in India looking forward to a time when the dealership business in India could become easily tradable with the dealers getting value for their setups and efforts in the market.

Some of the learnings from the Convention were – a) The agency model of business was most talked about by the international representatives from various markets; b)The general thinking was that the dealer Inventory was set to increase in 2023 due to improved supplies and weakening demand; c) due to franchise laws in place, dealers in USA exerted much strength over OEMs and were not bulldozed with unreasonable demands by OEMs with regards to manpower, infrastructure, stock, enforced vendors for oil, paint etc; and d) The respect an automobile dealer commanded for his contribution to the economy, the employment opportunities he provided the nation with was noteworthy. Also noteworthy was the respect they garnered from the political parties For this, NADA has worked hard and is the cohesive force for the position the dealers in the USA are currently enjoying.

All this makes me feel we are on the right track. The Model Dealer Agreement & Auto Dealers Protection Act are the steps in the right direction. With MG Motor India announcing their dealer agreement in line with the MDA proposed by FADA is the first step towards a million step to be taken in future. We have once again begun to meet OEMs for taking the MDA ahead. In this regard, we met Tata Motors MD Mr. Shailesh Chandra. Mr. Chandra heard us patiently and said that he will review the MDA with an open mind and see how Tata Motors can implement the same in times to come. We shall continue with our meetings with other OEMs so that MDA is implemented by by the entire OEM universe going forward.

During the month, FADA Chapter Members held meetings with the Transport Department officials to address the key concerns of the dealer fraternity in their region.

In Maharashtra & Delhi, FADA Chapters rallied with the transport department for taking strict actions against the MBO’s (Brokers) and the erring dealers. I am happy to share that in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and other places department has been successful in curbing the MBO menace with support of FADA. Around 5,000 vehicles have been impounded and dealers found supplying vehicles to MBO’s their Trade Registration Plates have been cancelled/ suspended. Soon the same action would be taken by the transport officials in Delhi- NCR region as well against erring dealers & agencies holding vehicles without trade plate. I will once again like to reiterate that FADA has reached a position where in Our Voices Are Being Heard. Therefore, It’s a Huge Responsibility on us to Honour Our Commitments as per the Law of the Land.

Regarding implementation of amended CMV Rules, 1989, the rules of which have been notified by MoRTH in March 2021 but it is yet to be fully implemented in many states. To get to know the actual position, RTI’s were filed individually with each State Transport Department as well as with MoRTH at the centre. Based on the same, FADA will go forward and file writ petitions. Consultation with the legal team & CMVR expert on the matter is on and soon a decision would be taken and shared with you all.

Here, I would like to once again caution my friends that as per the Central Motor Vehicle Act & Rules, merely uploading all the documents & payment of required fees does not complete the vehicle registration process. The registration of vehicle is complete only after the affixation of HSRP. Therefore, I earnestly request that no vehicle should be handed over to a customer before the affixation of HSRP.

Recently in Chandigarh, the transport department as per the EV policy of the state to promote EV sales, has decided to put a cap on registration of Petrol & Diesel vehicles. In fact, for FY’23 registration of all petrol & diesel vehicles in Chandigarh has been banned from Feb 10, 2023 till March 31, 2023 since the quota is over. FADA had earlier challenged this order of the State department in the Hon’ble High Court of Punjab & Haryana. The court upon hearing the matter gave an order that FADA can approach the Chandigarh Administration w.r.t our grievance which shall be considered after consultation and gave the next date of hearing as 16th March’23. Since this is a pressing matter, FADA has approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The apex court on understanding the urgency of the matter has accepted our petition and has given 3rd March’23 as the hearing date. We are hopeful to get a positive hearing so that Dealers and Customers can be saved from such an arbitrary rule.

In Madhya Pradesh, FADA Chapter members led by State Chairperson Mr. Ashish Pande met Hon'ble Finance Minister of MP - Shri Jagdish Dewda and presented to him the budget recommendations of the auto retail industry; they also conducted City ride with the Indore administration to promote Road Safety & are also working with the State administration to include a Chapter on Road Safety as part to curriculum to make children aware about the same.

In Yavatmal Maharashtra, Mr Rajeshwar Niwal, Regional Director conducted Helmet distribution campaign to the weaker section of the society as a homage and in memory of Shri Paresh Shah whose contribution to the Maharashtra 2-wheeler dealer fraternity has been immense. On the occasion, road safety pledge was also taken.

As part of the Leadership for Entrepreneurs Program, FADA Academy under the Chairmanship of Mr. Vinkesh Gulati organised a seven-day residential training program in Bangalore from 5th Feb’23 to 11th Feb’23. The Leadership Training course was conducted by eminent dealers of the auto-retail industry & distinguished faculty. Around 13 dealer principals attended the course which included sessions on branding, finance, dealership management & dealership visit. Feedback received from the participants have been encouraging and the inputs received will help to formulate the future courses undertaken by FADA Academy.

Soon FADA Research will be launching for the first time a study to map the Customer Experience called CES & parallelly nominations for Dealership Excellence Awards will also be called for by your association. Work on both the fronts with our knowledge partners- PremonAsia is in full swing and very shortly you shall get to know more details.

State Chapters are also gearing up to hold Vyapar events in their respective state for building better interaction amongst dealers within the State, exchange of best practices, discuss dealer concerns and meet up with FADA central leadership.

As I end my message, I continue to look upon each one of you for your feedback, support and co-operation. You can write to me at [email protected]

Happy Selling,
Warm Regards,

Manish Raj Singhania
President - FADA