NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 -- India's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, is retooling its business operations for the premium Nexa chain of dealerships to tide over the demand slump in the automobile sector, three people directly aware of the development said in an interview, requesting anonymity.
The company has allowed Nexa dealerships across India to change store locations to slash rental costs, which account for 15-20% of total operating costs. Besides, Maruti has brought down its manpower requirement from six to five per vehicle, the first person said. Automakers ask dealers to recruit a certain number of executives per vehicle to efficiently run a showroom.
The Delhi-based manufacturer has decided to replace smaller retail partners...