Maruti's quick response team with bikes to provide road side assistance

New Delhi: Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday launched an initiative to provide quick road side assistance to its customers with a fleet of 350 bikes.

The new initiative, Quick Response Team (QRT) on Bikes, would offer road side assistance to customer cars in 251 cities in the first phase. "We are starting with 350 bikes in over 250 cities in the first phase. The initiative would be expanded to 500 cities by end of 2020," MSI MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa told reporters here.

The launch of the QRT on bikes is a strategic decision to rapidly help attend customer cars that may have broken down on the road, he added. "We are confident that this initiative will take Maruti Suzuki service for customer care to the next level of convenience," Ayukawa said.

The QRT bikes would be able to reach the distressed vehicle in lesser time in cities with heavy traffic thus reducing the stress level of the owner as well, he added. MSI Executive Director (Service) Partho Banerjee said that the company on an average received around 10,000 calls per month for road side assistance.

Each QRT biker would be equipped with essential tools and critical spares needed to quickly restore the vehicle in distress. The 350 bikes join the fleet of over 415 MSI vehicles to attend to customer car breakdowns across the country.

The service would be available on a complimentary basis under the extended warranty offered on company's cars. However, vehicles not covered under warranty would have to pay visiting charges ranging between Rs 420 and Rs 575 depending upon the location.