The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, NOV 23, 2022
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today hosted the Odisha leadership meet here under the chairmanship of FADA President Manish Raj Singhania. The meeting was also attended by FADA Odisha State Chairperson Pradeep Agarwal, FADA CEO Saharsh Damani, and over 50 Automobile Dealers from across the state.
During the meeting, Dealer members discussed their concerns, business challenges and upcoming opportunities. The goal of the engagement was to promote ease of doing business at all levels, newer business opportunities which Dealers can considerand to further develop a sustainable and seamless auto retail business environment in general.
The Model Dealer Agreement (MDA), which was recently introduced at FADA’s 4th Auto Retail Conclave in New Delhi in the presence of Industry stalwarts, was a key topic of discussion.
The MDA strives to achieve equity and balance in the contractual relationship between OEMs and Dealers. The MDA consideredinternational best practices, referred to dealership contracts in other countries, and closely studied the Indian legal landscape. The MDA’s provisions reflect this harmony. FADA attempts to address some of the key issues that dealers face in India through this MDA, such as a lack of protection against sudden OEM exits, small agreement terms, a lack of clear and mandatory repurchase obligations on the OEMsand a lack of clarity in indemnity provisions, among many others.
Speaking on the occasion, FADA President Manish Raj Singhania, said,“The auto retail industry is a critical component of the autosales ecosystem. As an association, we are committed to providing the best possible support and voice to our dealer members across the country. Odisha is a significant market with enormous growth potential for the sector and the business. Our state members have been working in tandem with the national leadership to address the on-the-ground challenges and promotea sustainable business development model in the state.
“I thank our state team, particularly Odisha State Chairperson Mr Pradeep Agarwal, for their efforts and contributions to the association as well as organizing this first Dealer meet in the state.” he added.
Besides MDA, the senior leadership of FADA also discussed why Auto Dealers Protection Act is the need of the hour and how it will help in binding OEMs as well as adopting the Model Dealer Agreement along with business and operational issues of Dealers in Odisha.
FADA Odisha State Chairperson Pradeep Agarwal said, “Odisha is an important market for Auto Retail in India. It is also one of the biggest Auto Retail markets in the East. While we have around 1,100 Dealership outlets in the state, we employ around 2 lakh direct employees without displacing them from their home location. For CY 2022 till date, we have already collected Rs 1,400 crores worth of Road Tax and approx. Rs 5,400 crores of GST collection which comes from sale of Automobiles in the state.”
