Maruti partners Bank of Maharashtra to help dealers get affordable credit

Maruti and other automakers have been collaborating with banks to provide finance options for dealer partners to push the wholesale demand (REUTERS) — Maruti and other automakers have been collaborating with banks to provide finance options for dealer partners to push the wholesale demand **(REUTERS)**

1 min read . Updated: 19 Jul 2021, 12:59 PM IST Livemint

Bank of Maharashtra’s ‘Mahabank Channel Financing’ scheme will provide comprehensive financing opportunities for the company’s dealer partners across the nation

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Monday announced a partnership with Bank of Maharashtra to offer affordable finance options to dealers for buying and maintaining vehicle inventory.

The bank’s ‘Mahabank Channel Financing’ scheme will provide comprehensive financing opportunities for the company’s dealer partners across the nation.

With vehicle sales declining for more than two years, auto dealers’ financials have taken a significant hit. The second wave-induced lockdowns derailed the recovery in sales witnessed since September last year. Hence, Maruti and other automakers have been collaborating with banks to offer dealer inventory financing to push the wholesale demand.

“We are thankful that this collaboration with Bank of Maharashtra will offer new-age banking and finance solutions for our dealer partners. There is a business requirement to induct more finance partners for dealer inventory funding keeping in mind long term business requirements and contingencies," said Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki.

“The tie-up will allow us to further consolidate the business to provide one-stop services under supply chain finance. We are optimistic that this partnership will help in leveraging business opportunities in MSME category and increase market penetration for MSIL," said AS Rajeev, managing director and chief executive, Bank of Maharashtra.

The auto industry came under pressure from the first week of April when Maharashtra began strict lockdown measures. Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and others followed the suit. Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Hyundai and others either stopped production or reduced output significantly.

Some like Bajaj Auto Ltd, however, continued to operate with limited capacity to meet export orders. With a steady drop in infections, especially in north and south India, most automakers have resumed operations from the middle of May.

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