Mahindra First Choice Launches India’s First Online And Offline Auction Platform

Mahindra First Choice, a certified used car company has announced the launch of True Time Bids - www.truetimebids.com. A live online-offline auction platform allowing buyers and sellers to participate in traditional 'on the ground' used-car auctions through the internet in real-time.

The online auction platform eDiig, a division of Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd. (MFCWL) has launched the initiative which will improve the efficiency of how vehicles auctions are conducted in India today.

Usually, a retailer or a dealer with vehicle assets conduct offline auctions and some of them conduct online auctions to attract non-local bidders. The two process might be inefficient as it could take time to dispose the assets and buyer liquidity as buyers could be in separate auction events.

The True Time Bids platform aims to combine both auction formats into a single auction event online and offline. Buyers can bid on a vehicle either being on the ground or can simply log in and bid vehicles at an auction in any cities across India.

Online bidders have access to a live feed from the auction yard revealing the vehicle and the current bids. Apart from feeds, the platform also provides vehicle inspection and pricing analytics powered by Autoinspekt (www.autoinspekt.com) and Indian Blue Book (www.indianbluebook.com).

Mahindra First Choice aims to organise the used-car space in India and bring legitimacy and transparency to market with the online and offline platform.

The company has a pilot project with Kotak Bank prior to the launch and the concept seems to have been well received from both buyers and sellers, in this case, Kotak.

B. Ganeshkumar, Senior Vice President of eBusiness at Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd., said, "The pilot launch of Truetimebids.com with Kotak has been extremely successful and we look forward to taking this platform to all our clients over the next few weeks. We believe it will fundamentally change the way vehicles are disposed at auctions. Our clients are continuously looking for higher liquidity and more efficiency in our auction services, and we are pleased to develop and launch India's first simultaneous online-offline auction platform."

Along with the platform, eDiig also launched a mobile app eDiig Now, which is available both for Android and iOS users. This app allows buyers and sellers access eDiig's auction on-the-go. With this app, buyers can view run lists from multiple auctions based on their eligibility and credit limits.