Meta to digitally skill 3K auto dealers to reach Indian customers

NEW DELHI: Meta (formerly Facebook) on Wednesday announced a partnership with the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) to upskill more than 3,000 auto dealers across the country to build a social presence and digitise using its various platforms.

The 'Move with Meta' skilling and enablement programme, announced during the Auto Expo 2023,' will provide auto dealers across the country an easy and low-cost access to best-in-class digital expertise.

FADA currently represents 15,000 auto dealers across the country.

"Over the last two years, we've enabled more than 2,600 dealers to digitise their outreach and experiences through our unique solutions and tools," said Saugato Bhowmik, Director-Auto, CPG, and D2C for Meta in India.

With people increasingly relying on digital touchpoints to decide on their automobile purchases, auto dealers have felt an urgent need to become discoverable to customers online.

Meta platforms enable auto dealers to build a social presence through key products such as Stories, Reels, Business messaging, Facebook and WhatsApp Groups and AR experiences.

Moreover, Facebook and Instagram also help auto dealers with a more efficient model of lead generation through hyperlocal outreach and hyperlocal automated lead generation in partnership with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

"With digital penetration increasing, our endeavour is to help scale Indiaa?s auto dealers across geographies and demographics to connect with customers online," said Manish Raj Singhania, President of FADA.

FADA will play a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless delivery of the aMove with Meta' programme across geographies to enhance the digital prowess and proficiency of automotive dealers of all sizes.

"The dealer digitisation initiatives by Meta in one stroke serve the consumers, dealerships, and OEMs equally," said Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Growth Officer, Hero MotoCorp.