Mahindra Finance forays into vehicle leasing, subscription business

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited, a part of the Mahindra Group, on Thursday announced its entry in the vehicle leasing and subscription business to tap emerging opportunities in this space.

The new vertical would operate under the brand name 'Quiklyz', which is aimed at building a nimble model with very high asset quality, the company said in a release.

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This also gives the brand a springboard to launch similar products in semi-urban and rural markets in times to come, it said.

According to the company, with the process of owning a vehicle at an inflection point, consumers want to access vehicles earlier in their life and upgrade their vehicles faster than ever before.

The leasing and subscription model offered by 'Quiklyz' provides exactly that; where consumers pay a monthly fee to access the vehicle of their choice across all car brands, at a lower price point as compared to regular car ownership, the company said.

Corporates and businesses are also looking for alternate ways to have access to vehicles which can match their requirements without the burden of traditional ownership models, the company said in the release.

"With 'Quiklyz', we aim to make the process of ownership convenient for our consumers both for individual and corporate segments alike. I am confident 'Quiklyz' will add substantial value to our existing financial business portfolio as we aspire to tap all emerging opportunities in this space," said Ramesh Iyer, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Finance.

Changing millennial mind-set, asset-light business models, car scrappage policy, rapid vehicle launches by automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), emergence of EVs and sharply reducing average holding period of new car, among others, are expected to accelerate leasing and subscription as owners look at alternate ways of vehicle access without treating it as a long-term commitment, Mahindra Finance said.

"A very important set of consumers for our new business will be the millennials who aspire to not only owning a vehicle, but to do so in a hassle-free manner," said Turra Mohammed, senior vice president and head of leasing and subscription at Mahindra Finance.

'Quiklyz' will provide that convenience while allowing them to frequently change or upgrade to newer models entering the market without any down payment, he said, adding, "for corporate as well, leasing is fast emerging as a viable option both for providing cars to their employees and obtaining vehicles for their business use".

Mahindra Finance and Mahindra Group ecosystems would give an edge to 'Quiklyz' with the business utilizing all common infrastructure of Mahindra Finance, the company stated in the release.

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