Mr. Manish Gupta an Electrical Engineer by profession is the Co-Founder of Axiom Automobile Pvt Ltd renownedly knows as CarkiDeal. They are the leading dealers in New & Used Cars based out of Delhi.
With the Other Co-Founder Mr. Akash, both Manish & Akash has been in this business for more than 15 Years helping people to chose the right vehicle as it is said in India that a 4 Wheeler is the 2nd Expensive Asset being bought in India and people very much selective in what they Invest in.
In a recent interview with Mr. Ravdeep Singh Chadha (Editor-In-Chief of Auto Insider) , Mr. Manish Gupta talked about his Mission, Vision, Big opportunities in Automobile Industry and some suggestions for entrepreneurs and Start-ups.
What are the products and services does CarkiDeal work in?
Carkideal is basically a one-stop solution for all the queries you have regarding cars. We deal with customers who either want to buy a new car or sell an old car. We also guide them to buy a new car or opt for the used ones. We deal with Demo cars as well, Demo Cars as in We sell the test drive cars from the showroom which is brand new. When the car is registered, you can get it at a discounted price as we have special tie-up with the manufacturers.
What Segment Of Cars do you deal in?
Yes, we deal in all segments but our main focus is on the premium range like BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes etc
How many years have you been into this business? And how many employees are working as of now?
Axiom Automobile Pvt. Ltd, the parent company is in business for the last 17 years. Initially, we started to sell cars and focused on giving loans for a car. Then slowly created a hub for all the issues with the car.
Team strength is currently almost 40 odd people. We deal with the customers who focus on Mercedes and Audi and marketing is also done for the premium range of cars.
Team CarKiDeal
How does the Whole transaction work at CarkiDeal as in how is the payment for new cars is done? Whether is it done directly or will you be the mediator?
It can be done in both ways. If a customer is getting a car loan, then the financier gives the payment directly to the showroom or if somebody wants to pay directly to the showroom, they can do it. But for used cars, obviously, payment comes first to us.
What is the Vision of the Company and What will you be your target with expanding and in what ways it will be different?
We want Carkideal to be one of the best portals in our country and expand it in pan India.
Our main focus is in North India including Punjab, Chandigarh, and Haryana. But with online promotions, we also target Bengaluru and Mumbai as well.
We will focus on this and also increase the car reach by spreading to different cities and guide the customers to choose the right way. If we open a franchisee, we will train ourselves to build a brand that can build reliability among the customers. This may take time, but we want to create it.
Manish, something about you now, Everyone has ups and downs in life. Tell us about a few of your experiences?
First, in case of good times, we thankfully got successful starting. Our business started doing well from the initial stages. We became the leading partners. Apart from auto, at one point we were doing loans as well and we are successful in that as well. I got recognized with many awards.
Coming to the bad days, after 6-7 years of our business, we became stagnant for almost 5 years. There was no growth, no vision nothing. That was very suffocating for me, then this Carkideal idea emerged and things started to change.
Mr. Manish being featured on TV
I am sure everyone has some mentors who inspire them, Mention three people who inspired you in your life?
One is my current Guru Mr. Rajiv Talreja. I attended the program of Tony Robbins, that was very inspiring, that again boosted my energy, where I realized that things can be done if we take action. Third Guru, I’ll say is my father who has always constantly stood behind me in whatever I do, even during my failures, he was at my back to support.
Everyone has good and bad in them. What people see as such in you?
Right now I am a good team member. According to them, I started to understand their needs and it has helped us to grow as a team. The negative thing is my procrastination and I need to work on it.
Any suggestions for the new-age entrepreneurs who are just starting their business may be in your trade or different trade?
“Consistency is the key to any business, it is the Mother of all Mastery!”
About the Auto Industry, What’s your take on the rising competition? What is your take on competitors in your own trade?
It depends. You need to market in your own way. The competition will always be there. The population of our country is increasing day by day so is consumption. Marketing is the only strategy. No one can stop you.
Yes, everyone has their own chunk and you just need to market yourself.
Accomplishments of Mr Manish Gupta
Recently we’ve seen in the news that automobile is on the downstream. Does that impact your industry as well? What are your comments on that?And what impact does this have on your business?
Not really. From my point of view, it’s a short-term thing. The overall sentiment of the market is slow down, things will be on track very soon. Recently our Finance Minister stated that they will help in reviving the auto industry. In the long run, I don’t think things will get worse.
Thankfully it does not impact our business as we target the premium segment which has no major setback.
CarKiDeal awarded as a leading Seller in India
Electric vehicles are the next big thing. What’s your view on that?
Our Government created a lot of a lot of hype on that. As per the statement of our transport minister, we will have only electric cars by 2030. But I don’t see things happening in the near future. It will start happening only after 5 years. Even after a decade, only 10% of the industry will change to electric cars from my perception. May be public transportation or two-wheeler segment may be changed to electric sooner.
The main issue is the cost of the batteries. Until we go for new technology for the batteries, this Lithium is very expensive. So, in the near future, though they aspire to change, I don’t think they can do it. Because China has all the infrastructure for that and we will be totally dependent.
Why should one buy a used car rather than a new car? Give us 3 reasons.
It depends entirely on the requirement of the person. In the case of a new car initially, there is huge depreciation.
Things to Consider before buying are: Budget + Aspiration + Initial depreciation for new Cars.
A lot of things to be checked. After analyzing all the factors, they can decide whether they will go for used cars or new cars.
Each car has its own advantage.
We are seeing that Auto companies are offering huge discounts on used cars. Is that true?
Yes, it is true. There are lots of cars on the market. Nearly 35,000 Crores of cars are ready in plants of various manufacturers. They concentrate on the new model as well. As per the government guidelines, BSVI cars are only registered from April 1. So, they have huge pressure to sell all BS IV cars and clear the stock. This is the reason for offering a huge discount.
What next big opportunity do you see in the auto industry?
The used car market will further grow in India. If you see the Western Markets or US markets, Used car markets are bigger than the New car markets. It will grow distinctively in the coming years.
Since you are focusing on premium cars. Do you think they won’t be coming to Uber and Ola in India at least?
People are actually growing and aspirations of using Premium cars are in demand so that segment is also growing. And thankfully we don’t see these aggregators coming to Premium Segment Cars. Also, a Premium Segment customer would buy and not use the aggregator as an alternative.
What major challenges do you foresee in taking your company to the next level?
Challenge 1 is from the bigger players and their style of marketing. So, we have to chalk out our own way of promoting ourselves on how to do it and with the smaller players, we need to find our own way on how to deal and grow with them.
The main challenge is the rising competition from the bigger players, as it is trending in all the businesses in India.
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