Luxury car manufacturer Volkswagen said on November 6, 2012, that it has forayed into a multi-brand pre-owned car business, under the Das WeltAuto brand. Volkswagen expects the new venture to contribute 25 percent to the company’s total sales.

In India, Mahindra First Choice is the leader in the multi-brand used car market. Arvind Saxena, the managing director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars said that Volkswagen expects 25 percent of its sales to come through its new business venture. Saxena also inaugurated the dealership in Mumbai.

Das Welt Auto is a part of Volkswagen’s pre-owned car business and Saxena went on to say that it has 15 dealerships and would add six more by December, 2012, which would help them gain deeper access.

The chairman added, “In all, we will have 50 outlets by the end of next year”. Maruti Suzuki had pioneered the pre-owned car business in the year 2000 under the brand True Value and today it stands at 1.3 times higher than the new car business. According to industry estimates, in the overall pre-owned car business,  about 12-14 percent comes from original equipment manufacturers. This number is expected to grow to 18 percent over the next five years. Saxena also said that the new growth rate is much higher than the numbers for new car sales.