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PUNE, May 15

AND now, quality care for your favourite hot wheels, brought all the way from Switzerland.

The Pune-based vehicle care system provider, Opulent Car Care, has tied up with Swiss major Waxoyl AG, to provide professional maintenance and comprehensive car care and protection programmes for Indian car users.

For car owners constantly hassled about damage to their cars from corrosion and lack of quality protection services for their vehicles at the dealers' end, peace of mind will now mean driving into their dealership and asking for a comprehensive Waxoyl cover for the vehicle.

Announcing the launch of their Pune operations through Opulent Car Care, Mr S. SathyaPrakash, Managing Partner, said the company has tied up with Automart India to provide protection to their used car business and with eleven other dealers in the city. It also plans to set up its own chain of Waxoyl workstations where car owners can get protection and care for their vehicles, he said.

Waxoyl is one of the leading car care and rust-proofing company and has operations in over hundred countries. The company provides bumper-to-bumper protection for cars, including underbody, cavity, paint, fabric and engine components, which are not normally covered by standard guarantee provided by vehicle manufacturers.

Waxoyl Technical Director and Vice-President, Mr Eric Knorpp, said his company planned to begin operations in Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad in the first phase of its India operations.

The company expects to roll out the services across the country by end-2004, he said. Pointing out that the market for such services would now take off in India with its multiple car models and a rapidly developing used car segment, Mr Knorpp said providing such services would also be profitable for car dealers who can increase their business and ensure customer retention with value-added services.

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The company was, meanwhile, planning to set up a network of Waxoyl dealers across the country and simultaneously also examine the possibility of tying up with OEM, Mr Sathyaprakash said.

While the first phase of the Waxoyl programme for India would focus on two- and four-wheelers, plans were also being firmed up to cater to the light and heavy commercial vehicle segment, ship-building and other automotive business segments, he said.

Customers will pay between Rs 7,500 and Rs 10,000 for the small car and the larger cars respectively, with warranty period extending from five years for a new car to 3 years for a used car, depending on the extent of corrosion and other existing damages, he said.

"We expect to earn revenues of between Rs 9 and Rs 10 crore in the next three years," he said. The Waxoyl programme with the dealer will include comprehensive training for the latter's staff and providing him with technology, hardware and material for the car protection programme.

"In a market dominated by players in the unorganised sector, a service like this, available at a single point destination, has a huge potential that is waiting to be tapped," Mr Sathyaprakash said.

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