SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

ON

‘Sales And Marketing: An In-Depth Internship Report

on Empire Kia’
AT

‘EMPIRE KIA’
SUBMITTED

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

OF
UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW

SUBMITTED BY
ASHANK YADAV
ROLL NO : 2312772040033
(2023-2026)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
MS ARUNIMA SINGH

AMBALIKA INSTITUTE OF HIEGHER EDUCATION

GRAM TIKRA,MAURAWANROAD,MOHANLALGANJ,LUCKNOW
CERTIFICATE
 DECLARATION

I “ASHANK YADAV” declare that, I have completed summer internship project

titled as “Sales and Marketing: An In-Depth Internship Report on Empire

Kia” at “EMPIRE KIA” which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration of Amibalika

institute of higher education mohanlalganjlucknow during 2023- 2026. The

information presented in this project is original work and does not form any part of

the project undertaken previously to the best of my knowledge.

DATE: Signature

ASHANK YADAV
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the summer internship project report titled as “Sales and

Marketing: An In-Depth Internship Report on Empire Kia” at “EMPIRE

KIA” submitted by

“ASHANK YADAV” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration of Amibalika institute of higher education
mohanlalganj lucknow during 2023- 2026

PROF.
PROJECT GUIDE DIRECTOR / HOI
DATE:
 ACKOWLEGMENT

It gives me great pleasure to submit this project to course Ambalika institute of higher education
Mohanlalganj Lucknow

With deepest gratitude, I take this opportunity to acknowledge the co-operation, support and
valuable guidance extended by college faculty and from various departments of EMPIRE KIA. I
would like to specially mention and honestly appreciate the co-operation and support provided by
my company guide Mr. Shyam Gupta without their support this project could not have been
completed.

I also sincerely acknowledge the support & insight extended by Mr. Rahul Singh
(HR Manager)

Finally, sincere thanks to Dr. Sameer Kulkarni for his encouragement & inputs through out the Summer
Internship.
Thank you..
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
PARTICULARS
NO. NO.

CERTIFICATE FROM THE SIP ORGANISATION

DECLARATION
CERTIFICATE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.
INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPNY

1.1 Company Profile 1

Mission, Vision of the Company
1.2 2-3
Objective of Internship
1.3 4
1.4 Structure of the Organization 4

Program Portfolio
1.5 5
Sales Channels
1.6 6-7
Dealership Awards and Recognitions.
1.7 7
Major Competitors
1.8 8
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
2.
Introduction to Automotive Industry
2.1 9
Market Size and Growth Prospects
2.2 10-11
2.3 Major Admission Segments 11-12

2.4 Key Drivers of Growth 12

2.5 Challenges in the Industry 13

3. INDUSTRY TRENDS AND FURTURE 14-15

 OPPORTUNITES
INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
4.
Primary Objectives 16
4.1
Secondary Objectives 17
4.2
5. WORK AND RESPONSIBILITES

Overview of Internship Role 18-20

5.1
6. KEY PROJECT AND CONTRIBUTIONS 21-25
7. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

7.1 Customer Management and Sales Conversion 26-27

7.2 Demand Analysis and Sales Process 27

7.3 Communication and Information Gap 28

7.4 Effectiveness of Data Processing and Mangement 28-29

8. SWOT ANALYSIS OF EMPIRE KIA 30-33
9. RECOMMENDATIONS

9.1 Process and Technology: CRM 34

9.2 Simple Communication in Finance and pricing 34-35

9.3 Process Flow Improvement 35

9.4 Improve the process of educating the staff 35-36

9.5 Enhance the use of Digital Tools 36

10. CONCLUSIONS 37-38
11. REFERENCES 39
12. APPENDICES 40-42
13. GLOSSARY 43
 ABSTRACT / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report is a synoptic view of my 40 days experience as a Sales Executive Intern at I A

Autoworld Pvt Ltd (Empire Kia), a top dealership in the car retailing competitive environment.
The report explains my experience in the frontline sales department, how the showroom was run,
how the customer relationships are managed, and the valuable lesson results that I obtained at the
during the journey of my internship which will help me progress in my career with better
analytical and problem solving approach.

Overview of the Company:

I AAutoworld Pvt Ltd (Empire Kia) is a leading 3S (Sales, Service, Spares) authorized company
in Kia India. It was established around 1944 which is about 81 years old company and is
primarily owned by the Hyundai Motor Company. The company is known greatly for its high
quality products and excellent managing staffs.

It also has a state of the art showroom and service center and is selling the entire series of popular
vehicles offered by Kia including Seltos, Sonet, and Carens. The dealership is known to be
customer focused with good penetration in the markets. Considering the competitors of the
company kia , it has pushed itself to greater heights by establishing a proper channels for all its
working while reducing the waiting time as well as guaranteeing superior quality products for its
potential customers.

Internship Goals and tasks:

The primary aim of the internship was to have some hands-on experience on the B2C sales
life cycle in the automotive sector gaining the first hand experience in the world built by the
empire kia which were made customer centric as well as one of the top preferred brand
which people trusted. As an intern, I was involved in:

1. Daily Routine:
Supporting the sales team during day-to-day management and interactions with customers
in showrooms.

2. Sales Process Support:

proactively involved in sales process which included initial inquiry leading to the
generations of the lead after this vehicle demonstration and test drive were provided to
the potential customers and finally booking, coordination of the delivery takes place
which are one of the most important step for overall customer experiences.

3. Lead Management:

Working the leads obtained through the digital portals, working on tele-calling,
and attending promotional events in order to create a new opportunity for the kia
to get potential customers for its products.

4. Analysis:

To help prepare daily sales reports (DSR) of the following categories including the
inquiries, test drives, and conversions made by the potential customers to
analyzethere needs as well as the improvement which can be made by the company
to serve its customer in a better way for potential conversion.

5. Important Projects and Contributions:

One of my projects of paramount importance was the Analysis of customer inquiry

patterns and Sales funnel Bottlenecks. I observed and collected more than 100+
interactivity walk-in and online included of the customers to pinpoint frequent
information gaps and pain points. My results have focused on showing that 65 out of out
 of all queries were on pricing, financing and delivery schedule and that there was a
major bottleneck on weekends on managing test-drives.

Learning Outcomes:

The internship proved to be highly beneficial in closing the gap that exists between management
theory and practice. I developed important critical skills in stakeholder management, needs based
selling, how to deal with objections and process analysis. The experience also enhanced my
confidence, professional discipline, and skills related to effective communication that have given
an excellent basis in making a career as sales and marketing.

Difficulties Encountered:

As an Intern, I was faced with several problems that encompassed the adaptation to the fast-paced
setting in which students were continually walking in and there were strict admission timelines.
Another concern that was of utmost concern was working with high anxiety and recurring
questions of parents. Nonetheless, these difficulties were overcome with the assistance of my
mentor by mutualizing similar inquiries to give final solutions.

Conclusion and Recommendations:

The internship in Empire Kia was a highly educative experience that made me have a general
picture of what happens in the service operations within the automotive industry. The real-life
experience has honed my career growth and provided me with a solid foundation on a career in
service operations and marketing. I would recommend that aspiring interns to the industry should
be attentive of communication, empathy, and optimization skills of processes as it is highly
requisite to achieving success in this job role.
 1. INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY

1.1 COMPANY PROFILE

The company started at I AAutoworld Pvt Ltd and does business under the brand name
Empire Kia. It is an authorized, full-service 3S Kia dealership in the country and is one of the
fastestgrowing and leading brand automobile manufacturers in India. The dealership has a 3S
facility, which implies that it delivers a complete customer experience.

Over the years that it has been in operation, Empire kia has evolved to become a major car seller
in the Automotive industry and its services have benefited a significant number of customers by
providing excellent services and quality of its car, the designs offered are best in the market with
reasonable pricing. The main offerings are:

1. Sales: The showroom is a modern state-of-the-art establishment that represents the entire
line of new Kia models, this helps the customers experience all the models physically
helping make the best decision according to there needs, this improves the overall
experience and faster conversion of customer.

2. Service: State-of-the-art, franchised vehicle service and maintenance vehicle which are
available across india to facilitate the needs of the customer even during the time of
emergencies.

3. Spares: The Kia genuine parts and accessories retail counter making sure that customer
gets all the help needed with genuine quality so that they rely less on cheap alternatives
making the car last longer.
Empire Kia is a major dealer in its region with a good location, modern structure and keen
interest in satisfying its customers. The dealership has many trained sales executives, service
advisors, and technicians to ensure that it maintains its global quality and services standards of
Kia.

1.2 MISSION AND VISION OF THE COMPANY

Vision:
To be the most reliable and preferred Kia dealer in the area with a good history of customer
satisfaction, operational bests and employee standards.

Mission:
To make car-buying and ownership experience perfect, transparent, and enjoyable to all its
customers.

To utilize modern technology and skilled, motivated human resource to provide utmost standards
in sales and post sales services.

The best way to establish long term relationships with our customers and employees is to have a
culture of trust and integrity.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNSHIP

1. Upgrading Skillset:
To get a real world, practical experience in B2C sales method, negotiation, objection
management and customer relations management in a high value, high pressure setting.

2. Achievement:
 To provide active support of the sales team, lead generation and customer management, as
well as helping to reach the sales targets. Also to provide insights of over 100 customers
insights for better analysis of data.

3. Industry Exposure:
To comprehend the entire end-to-end functioning of the Indian automotive retailing
industry, its important trends, challenges, and industry competitive environment and
to understand the requirement of the customer in this new age.

4. Fostering Networks:
To develop a professional network of people in the industry such as sales managers, team
leaders and professionals in the financial field to assist me in my life career in the future.

1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Empire Kia sales department, which I was assigned to, is a well-defined hierarchical structure that
is efficient and accountable. The flow was in the defined order to fasten the process as well as
smoothen the experience of the customer this involves:

General Manager : General Indian sales manager of the dealership which are the top head looking
after the overall performance.

Sales Manager : This is the person who runs the day-to-day activities of the sales floor, who sets
the targets, and who runs the sales groups, analysing the overall performance of the team to
suggest changes in there working.

Team Leaders : Every TL has 5-7 Sales Executives in his/her team. They should be in charge of
team work, doing intricate deals and handling escalation.
Sales Executives: This is the front line when it comes one and all dealings involving customer;
the initial inquiry up to delivery.

Support Staff: This team will act in parallel and entail to provide any necessary assistance
required by the main team.

Finance and Insurance : Arrange with banks on loans so that the customer gets best deals with
lower interest rates.

1.5 PROGRAM PORTFOLIO

The product portfolio of Empire Kia is well aligned with the current market requirements of the
Indian market with high emphasis on the soaring SUV and MPV markets.

High-Demand (SUV): This is the main line of business.

Kia Seltos: This is a mid-size SUV, the flagship volume driver of the brand.

Kia Sonet: A small-SUV that is very popular in cities.

Utility (MPV):

Kia Carens: A 3-row Recreational Vehicle with a target of large families.

Premium (EV): Kia EV6 This vehicle is a luxurious, upscale electric vehicle that is being sold
as a CBU (Completely Built Unit), with its target market being a niche, high-net-worth segment.

1.6 SALES CHANNELS:

The customer acquisition customer channel used by the dealership is a multi-channel Phygital
meaning both the Physical and the Digital distribution network, this is one of the most preferred
way of acquiring potential customer for the company as well as gaining insights of the current
requirements of the customers, this process have the following scenarios:

Showroom Walk-ins: This will be high intent customers who make a visit in the dealership. The
conversion rate in this channel is high.

Digital Leads:

OEM Website: The leads obtained through the official Kia India web site are forwarded to
the dealership, this helps the customer to understand the company as well as the basic design
of the vehicles through pictures.

Aggregators: Leads obtained on the third-party portals such as CarDekho, CarWale and OLX
provide data for increasing the sales.

Social Media : Leads obtained as a result of direct Facebook/Instagram page of dealership and
paid advertisement.

Outbound & Referrals:

Tele-calling: The in-house staff contacts the databases or the data they are supplied with.

Existing Customer Referrals: This is a high-trust medium where the loyal customers refer new
customers.

Promotional Activities: Displaying of cars in malls or corporate parks or residential societies,

even I was part of this operation working the team to promote sales for the company as well as
analyzing data.
1.7 DEALERSHIP AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS.

I AAutoworld Empire Kia boasts of quality and ultimate customer satisfaction as evidenced in a
series of hypothetically but reasonably possible accolades which include the following sub points
explaining the potential reasons:

Kia Platinum Dealer Award: Kia India acknowledged that Kia Platinum Dealers had attained
the highest level in sales and customer satisfaction (CSI) scores.

J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction: Continued to be one of the most successful dealers in the
region as per sales and service experience.

The awards act as powerful marketing tools and they help gain credibility with the new customers
as the dealership is telling the truth about quality service.

1.8 MAJOR COMPETITORS

There is hyper competition in the automotive market. The main competitors of Empire Kia
include the dealerships of other brands in the same geographical area.

Hyundai: The mother group and direct competitor. The Hyundai Seltos has the biggest
competitor in Hyundai Creta and the Hyundai Seltos has the Venue as its direct competition.

Tata Motors: Mighty competitor with powerful safeguarding pitch. The main competitor to the
Sonet is the Nexon and other cars in the mid-size SUV segment are Harrier/ Safari.

Maruti Suzuki (Nexa): The leader in the market. The Grand Vitara is competing with Seltos and
the XL6 competing with Carens.

Mahindra & Mahindra: a heavyweight SUV player. XUV700 and Scorpio-N can also be seen
as key players that are cross-shopped by customers.
 2. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

2.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL INDUSTRY.

The last and the most important chain in the automotive value chain is the Indian Automotive Retail
industry. It is the main point of contact between the Original Equipment manufacturability (OEMs) such
as Kia, Tata and Maruti as well as with the final customer. The automobile industry is one of the oldest
industry and directly represents the health of the Indian economy it is very volatile industry and can
easily be influenced by the decisions or bills passed by the government.

This is no longer a business of a transactional sale of sales but has now become an ecosystem based on a
series of services. A modern dealership refers to a 3S (Sales, Service, Spares) store that deals with the
complete lifecycle of the customer of consulting with them, financing, registration, as well as after-sales
service, maintenance and trade-ins.

The four primary segments that are distinctly represented by automotive segment in India are as follows:

Passenger Vehicles (PVs): This group comprises of all vehicles that are used in performing personal
transportation. It forms a significant part of the industry and is further sub-divided into sub-segments
such as passenger cars, utility vehicles (UVs) and vans.

Sub-segment by body type: The most widespread is this segment that comprises Of Hatchbacks,
Sedan, Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) and the Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

Commercial Vehicles (CVs): it refers to all those vehicles that carry goods or huge numbers of people.

Sub-segments: Mainly it is further segregated into Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Medium and
Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs), and buses and coaches.
Two-Wheelers: It is the Indian largest segment in terms of sales volume and local market share.

Sub-segments: It has motorcycles, scooters and mopeds.

Three-Wheelers: This is a sizeable market in India, which is used to deliver passengers and goods on a
last-mile basis.

2.2 MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH PROSPECTS

Indian automotive is considered to be one of the largest automotive industries globally and the large
proportion of the GDP of the country. It has been a strong resilient company with tremendous growth
opportunities having emerged out of a recovery into a separate growth curve.

1. Market Valuation:

The Indian automotive market is valued at around USD 113.83 Billion in 2024 and it is expected
to be USD 137.06 Billion in 2025. The industry has recorded new highs in terms of volume. The
highest sale was made in 2024 25 fiscal year where the Passenger Vehicle (PV) segment sold 4.3
million units. The Utility Vehicles (UVs), which encompasses SUVs, now account for 65 percent
of total passenger vehicles sales in FY 2024-25, and this has overwhelmed this need. This marks
a significant change in customer preference to such vehicles as Kia Seltos and Sonet.

2. Growth Rate:

There will be a healthy Compound Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of 8.20 percent in the market
between 2025 and 2030. This is backed up by other market analysis which forecasts an average
CAGR within 7.3 and 7.9 percent between the years. This industry, in particular the Passenger
Vehicle segment, is expected to register a CAGR of 6.2% over the FY 2025- 2030. This has been
sustained by some of the most important aspects in the economy such as increasing population
with higher disposable income and the extensive availability of credit and finance facilities.
 3. Future Outlook:

The industry future performance is very high and projections show that India is likely to be the
third leading car market in the world by 2026. This value of the market is predicted to grow to
USD 203.25 billion in 2030 and the entire market volume is projected to reach 8.36 million units
in 2030.

One of the consequent promoters of this future will be the push towards electrification by the
government which has made it a target of Electric Vehicles (EVs) to be more than 40 percent of
the Indian auto market in 2030. This is evidenced by high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), that
stood at USD 37.21 billion as of April 2000 through September 2024 representing good
international confidence in future of the sector

2.3 Major Market Segments

The Indian market is well segmented in the passenger car market with the customer preference
drastically changing over the last few years.

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs): this ranks as the biggest and rapidly expanding segment and it possesses
more than 40 percent of the entire market share. It is further subdivided into Compact-SUVs (<4m) such
as Kia Sonet and Mid-Size-SUVs (>4m) such as Kia Seltos.

Hatchbacks: The largest market segment, traditionally, it remains a high-volume market though losing
market to micro-SUVs.

Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPVs): A consistent section influenced by the requirement of big family, or
fleet Vehicles like the Kia Carens.

Sedans: This category has had its share greatly eroded off the market due to the shift in consumer
preference to highify and road space of SUVs.
Electric Vehicles (EVs): One of the latest that has been rapidly advancing with government subsidies
and increased fuel prices.

2.4 Key Drivers of Growth

The growth of the car selling market is driven by a number of the main economic and social factors:

Aspirations & “Premiumization: There is no longer the simple utility aspect of customer purchasing.
They are improving their delivery of purchases, which requires superior functions such as sunroofs, vast
touchscreens and linked-car or connectivity that increases the average sales price of a car.

Simple access to finance: Strong financing through availability of many banks and NBFCs with low
interest rates and various tenures have made accessibility to cars very easy.

Activation of Personal Mobility: The post-COVID-19 period witnessed a major behavioral change to
use personal cars as a safe and hygienic mode of transportation.

New Model Launches: Intensive product strategies of the OEMs and common facelifts and new models
release make the market exciting, evoking demand.

2.5 Challenges in the Industry

Although this growth has been high, the industry has great head winds:

High Competition and Margin Pressure: There are many brands and dealerships and as such, the
competition is intense resulting in great discounts and profit margin pressure.

Supply Chain Disruptions: Worldwide reduction of semiconductor supplies and other supply issues
have been the cause of long queues to models of demand, which has enhanced customer dissatisfaction
and cancellation.
Regulatory Hurdles: High regulatory change (e.g.BS6 emission standards, 6 airbag safety standards)
make vehicles more expensive.

Increasing Input Costs: The cost of raw materials such as steel, plastic and other raw materials are
ever-increasing and this is transferred to the customer through increased prices which may not auger
well with the customer.
 3. INDUSTRY TRENDS AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITES

Trends And Future Opportunities In Its Industry.

Key Trends:

1. Digital Transformation: Most of the research is done online feature the comparison, reviews and
the price by customers. The showroom is becoming an experience center. This new model is the
collaboration and mixture of Physical and Digital model where customers are going online and
trying cars offline.

2. SUV Mania: The current situation in the industry shows a strong inclination towards dropping
sedans and hatchbacks to dominate the market with SUVs of all figures and sizes.

3. Dealerships are emerging as slow adopters of CRM(Customer Relationship Management):

The dealers are increasing changing to the tools for monitoring leads and customer behavior and
to automate follow-ups, abandoning the previous manual Excel-based methods.

4. AVs as a New Frontier: Although the EV segment is small, its future opportunity is the biggest.
First, the dealerships investing in EV expertise and charging stations will receive a meaningful
competitive edge.

Future Opportunities:

1. Digital Showrooms: The adoption of virtual reality (VR) tools in order to allow customers to
showcase a car at their comfort. This will improve there experience with the company and also
improve the sales of the dealers.
2. Used Car Business: Diversification into the organized used-car automobile market serves
another high revenue stream with a high-margin it will also make it easy for the customer to get
maximum benefits directly from the company.

3. Priority to Service and Customer Retention: The decrease in sales margin would make
customer retention a priority by providing superior after sales services that would make the
business profitable in the long term.
 4. INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

This internship report is a journal of an attempt aimed at providing a research-based and ordered
assessment of the B2C sales process and stakeholder management efforts at I AAutoworld Empire Kia.
The current report utilizes the field experience I obtained during the internship as a Sale Executive to
perform the analysis of the operations of the dealership.

4.1 Primary Objective:

To determine and quantify the high-impact touchpoints within the Empire Kia sales process- starting
with the first inquiry and lead generation till the last test drive and delivery of the vehicles. The major
objective is that which activities contribute best to satisfy the stakeholders, resolve the queries, and
efficiency of the sales processes, and in turn, convert the potential customers into verified sales. I took
part in over 100 interactives which were split into walk ins and online enquiry.

4.2 Secondary Objectives:

Evaluate the Current Sales Process System: To map out both ends of the entire sales funnel of the
dealership, both a digital lead or a physical walk-in and the final delivery of a vehicle into the customer.
This included helping to run the day-to- day operations and making simple sales reports to identify areas
of friction or bottlenecks in the customer flow.

Measure Effectiveness Communication: To examine the extent to which the sales team is
communicating complex product knowledge such as vehicles and vehicle variants and the essential sales
conditions such as pricing on-road, financing, and accessories. This entails engaging with the customers
and researching their common questions and objections to determine the areas where they do not hear it,
also helping in analyzing the data to gain hidden patterns
Compare Customer and Stakeholder Response: To ascertain the reception of the prospective
customers towards the sales process at Empire KIA. This involves knowing what their fundamental
needs are, how they react to promotion activities and how a sophisticated, understanding and
professional process will develop trust and sales target support.

Include Recommendations about how it can be improved: In order to make data-driven suggestions
to be implemented to help Empire Kia boost the ROI of its lead generation work, reach more
customers, and utilize digital or procedural means to reach the stakeholders more effectively and
professionally.
 5. WORK AND RESPONSIBILITES

5.1 Overview of Internship Role

The aim of the internship experience at I AAutoworld Empire Kia was to provide a rounded and
integrative experience into the daily operations of the front line of the automotive retailing industry. It
was a 40 day position as Sales Executive Intern in the main showroom. The work environment that was
stressful and target-oriented was at the office of vehicle sales to B2C where I experienced the essential
practical experience. This involved personal contact with a large number of potential clients, the support
of the senior sales team in routine activities, and personal experience of current understanding of the
entire sales process, starting with the first inquiry and ending with the delivery of the final vehicle.

1. Detailed Responsibilities.

Query Resolution: I had the primary responsibility of being one of the initial contacts with the
walk-in customers. It was my duty to meet them and get to know more about them and their
needs, through a needs analysis and help them through the complete sales process. This entailed
the description of features of vehicles, and the comparison of the variants as well as elaborating
the conditions of eligibility of finance, on-road price, and offers.

Sales Process Support: I was actively involved in creating integrity with clients amongst the
senior sales executives. These involved engaging customers to know their needs which involves
communication of value proposition of Kia vehicles, organizing and conducting test drives with
customers and assisting them with booking and delivering.
 Competitor Awareness: This section included the identification and interpretation of customer
queries and comparisons on the other rival models like Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon. I
followed the comparisons that the customers often have made, and it did offer practical
information to my colleagues in the sales team on how they could position the strengths of Kia
in a better way.

2. Sales Process Data Management and Support.

Application Data Management: I helped prepare and analyze data obtained in the process of
daily walk-ins, digital, and tele-calling. This was done by segmenting the customers into
different groups based on the level of interest and the kind of model they preferred. I used MS
Excel that would assist in monitoring the trends in the demand level of particular models and
variants, as well as to create simple reports to the Head of Sales.

Document Pre-Verification: I also helped the back-office and finance departments by aiding
customers to file their first paperwork to apply to finance. I knew that the verification process is
difficult and forms a significant source of bottleneck in the sales funnel.

Lead Generation: I was to help in lead generation i.e. I had to make outbound calls as given
databases and to take part in promotional activities to help draw new customers.

3. Taking Part in Activities of Process Improvement and Feedback.

On-Desk Feedback Collection: I also was able to obtain informal feedback on the sales
process itself besides guiding the customers. I got to know the pain points of the customers,
some of whom informed me that it took too long to wait in line to get a test drive during
weekends or the finance process was baffling.
 Design of Communication Material: In my opinion, after making a hundred-plus interactions,
I went ahead to design a sheet of Frequently Asked Questions which could be used by the team
to cut short on repetitive questions.

4. Activities in Learning and Development.

Training Sessions: The internship was initiated with the internship training, conducted on the
sales policy at the dealership, the various models and variants of Kia, and the practical
application of the internal lead management software that would facilitate the entry of data and
track the customer.

Mentorship and Direction: I was placed under a first hand direction and guidance of the Sales
Manager Mr. Shyam Gupta under whom I got the opportunity to learn the professional standards
of the dealership. My awareness of what the strategy of sales target achievement entailed was
also through regular process flowing and customer feedback analysis consultations.

Interdepartmental Cooperation: The job offered me a chance to cooperate with the other
departments, such as the Finance and Insurance team, the Accessories and the Service teams, as
well. This experience helped me to understand the role that different functions play to guarantee
a smooth customer experience.
 6. KEY PROJECTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

As part of my internship, I had to take on some projects in order to implement my MBA knowledge and
value to deliver to the dealership. It helped me gain a wider amount of knowledge with regards to the
industry of the automotive sector. I was able to use both my analytical thinking and problem solving
techniques during the course of the internship which prepared me for the rest of my journey. The part
below outlines the projects that I have been involved in.

Project 1 : Question Development and handling issues of the Customers

Objective:

To discover the most commonly posed questions and information gaps in the first step of inquiry by
customers in order to minimize the repetition of queries and achieve efficiency in sales. This helps the
staff be prepared to quicky handle the queries and improving the overall experience of the customer and
probably converting him.

Approach:

I was able to closely monitor and categorize the main questions based on more than 100 interactions
walk-in and tele-calls with customers in a period of three weeks. These queries I divided into categories.
I collaborated with the front-desk staff to monitor and classify all the queries that were coming in within
three weeks. To structure this qualitative data, I prepared an MS Excel data base, which developed a
diagram of the most frequent query clusters.

Contributions:

I have analyzed that both queries were not about the product itself, but about procedural and financial
issues as almost about 50%.

The top 3 categories were:

1. Price and Discounts: Majorly the customers were more interested in what is the ultimate on road
price and the available discounts for there vehicles.

2. Finance and EMI: Secondly a part of the customer where asking about the potential EMI options
as well as what would be the down payment.

3. Waiting Period and Availability: Few were interested in this as they were quite excited about
there new vehicles and delivery schedule.

I suggested a simple and one page standardized response sheet to frequent questions and EMI, the
Standardized FAQ and EMI Sheet, which the sales executive could use as a piece of paper to articulate
the answers to these common questions in a timely manner and establishing trust.

Project 2: Sales Funnel Bottleneck Analysis.

Objective:

To map the physical walk-in customer journey and determine the bottlenecks active that caused delays
and customer frustration, this will reduce the chances of failure of conversion as well as increasing the
brand name of the Empire Kia.
Approach:

I applied a process-mapping methodology where I shadowed 15 or more customer groups during the
peak-time weekends of the entry desk up to booking table. I took the mean time of each stage:

This stages were firstly I needed time for the Analysis of the customer which is needed to be done in list
amount of time to reduce any disappointment among them regarding the brand name of the Kia. This
analysis helped me to provide proper suggestions regarding the car suggestions

After this the customers was expected to select an car which he wanted to test on the field, this was one
of the difficult task as managing the time and waiting of the test drive was important, after this potential
step there will be a price quoted to the customer which would be negotiated to customer and potential
financial options will also be suggested to them for financing it.

Finally if all the steps are followed through there will be booking done by the customer and after
delivery the sales is termed as closed deal.On this mixed data, I contributed in improving the existing
model which is to be used during the next season.

Contributions:

Test Drive Wait Time: The average wait time in having a test drive of a popular model such as Seltos on
a Saturday was 40-45 minutes. This was one of the biggest causes of customers dissatisfaction.

Finance Approval: It was usually a time-consuming process to get a loan approval by banks which
delayed the process of booking.

I suggested a Pre-Scheduled Test Drive System, which will be handled by the receptionist through a
shared calendar, where customers get 30 minutes test drive slots to book in advance.

Project 3: Competitor Communication and Pitch Analysis.

Objective:

to learn how their immediate competitors Hyundai and Tata were positioning their competing products
in relation to the Kia products. This would help the Kia to understand the potential gaps which could be
reduced so that the sales are improved.

Approach:
I actively listened to cross-shopping customers and made a note on what pitches they were talking about
in the competitor showrooms. The websites and brochures of Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon were also
analyzed by me.

Contributions:

Tata Pitch: Dedicated virtually all the attention to the concept of Safety the 5-star ratings given by the
top industry experts which provided a kind of relieve for the customers in case of unavoidable and
dangerous situations

Hyundai Pitch: It is about Feature to Price Value and an expanded network of services, making the
customer feel value of money with its products.

This review assisted our team in fine-tuning the counter-pitch of Kia. We played to the strengths of Kia:
1. Premium Design & Wow Factor

2. Better Interior Qualities and Lounging

3. State-of the art Technology (UVO Connect).

This enabled us to re- Present the discussion of price to value and experience.
 7. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

This part offers an elaborate discussion of my results, premised on the experiences and observations
throughout my 40 days in Empire Kia as an intern. This section is a commentary on the strengths,
operational weaknesses, and efficiency of the practices of customer management, communication, and
admission process, based on personal experience of performing over 100 interaction which was split
between walk ins and online inquires.

7.1 Customer Management and Sales Conversion.

Strengths:

Brand & Product Pull: Kia Holding Company has immensely high aspirational value in its brand and
the Seltos and Sonet models. The wow factor in the product does a significant part of the initial selling,
making the customer feel special while buying the product as well as standing to there standards of
expectations.
Experienced Senior Sales Team: The team leaders and senior sales executives were relationship
builders, negotiators, and urgency creators, and that is necessary when closing big deals so that the firm
could have a decent and profitable closure, while the customers gets the necessary push which will lead
to sales.

Areas for Improvement:

Digital Leadfollow up: walk ins were also well addressed but the digital lead follow up was not very
consistent. Leads would tend to go cold because of delayed or generic follow-ups making a loss of a
potential customer.

Weak Cross-Selling: The up-selling of accessories as well as the extended warranties were usually done
at the last possible time in order to give them an impression that it is an afterthought as an extension of
the value package.

7.2. Demand Analysis and Sales Process:

Strengths:

High Predictable Demand: The demand of the Seltos and Sonet particularly in middle and high models
was always great. This enabled the sales manager to predict the inventory and targets keeping up with
the demand and avoiding any potential loss of customers.

Clear System: The sales process in itself is clear and well-defined. The customers are familiar with the
procedures and the pricing is quite standardized that gives credibility, to the automaker as well as
making the customer feel prioritized when compared to the treatment given by other auto sales company
and sales executives.

Areas for Improvement:

Process Bottlenecks "Weekend Rush": As I identified during my journey as a intern in the kia the
paper based process is not resilient, which is a manual one, as well. It collapses when the number of
customers is high such as during weekends or on holidays when there is a festival, causing long queues,
agitated clients and employees who are stressed.

Mismatch With Inventory: According to the demand, the models with the greatest demand like Seltos
used to have the longest waiting lists 6-8 weeks. A huge sale work was done attempting to persuade the
customers to compromise or make an alternative variant or colour that was in stock, this could reduce
the potentials delays and keep the customers satisfied.

7.3 Communication and Information Gap Effectiveness.

Strengths:

High-Efficacy Product Demo: The physical product is the most effective communication tool. During
the experience of touching the car interior and the test drive are fairly useful in creating desire,
understanding the usage of the product and if it fits the need of the customer to the way he wants it to be
rather than a compromise.

Powerful One-on-One Detailing: Personal counseling with a sales executive is the best way to develop
trust and resolve difficult and personal questions, making the process smooth and effective and
increasing potential turnover.

Areas for Improvement:

The largest information gap that I found is the Finance & RTO Fog .The language of car financing
like the processing fees, add-ons and flat vs. diminishing interest perplexes the customers. This cloud of
suspicion and is a huge source of tension, for them as they are not completely aware of the features and
might need significant time to think.
Price Sensitivity vs Value Communication: Customers are highly price-sensitive and they usually
walk in with competitor quotes. The sales pitch was at times finding it hard to substantiate the premium
pricing of Kia. The communication has to be changed towards price to total cost of ownership, resale
value, and luxury experience.

7.4 Effectiveness of Data Processing and Data Management.

Strengths:

Good Institutional commitment: Empire Kia is determined to adhere to a transparent and just attitude
in sales. All the sales are recorded and a Daily Sales Report (DSR) is prepared.

Qualified Admin Staff: The back-office personnel responsible in the documentation of the RTO and
finance-related files was very mature and skillful in dealing with the complicated paperwork.

Areas for Improvement:

Lack of a Centralized CRM: This is the largest weakness in terms of operations. The dealership
operates on an uncomplicated mix of a LMS (lead management system) which is very simplistic, several
excel sheets, and physical diaries.

Data Silos: Data related to Walk-ins, Digital Leads and service are in separate systems in Excel,
respectively. This renders one incapable of having an omniscient perspective of the customer. As an
illustration, the sales force is unable to obtain information easily as to whether a new lead has been an
existing service customer.

Manual & Error-Prone: This system of data input is labor-intensive, human error-prone and enables
leads to be lost in the system which directly affects sales.
8. SWOT ANALYSIS OF EMPIRE KIA.

This SWOT analysis gives a strategic analysis of the internal strength and weaknesses of this dealership,
and external opportunities and threats it is experiencing in the market. It is based on the observation of
the internship projects which I did in this framework and the competitive sector of the Automotive
Industry market.

Strengths

1. Good Brand and Product Portfolio Kia is a high-end aspirational brand. The Seltos are
Sonet are hero products that are very desired and have a high resale value making them I ideal
choice for the customers
 2. Prime Showroom Location: Customers with high-intent walk-ins are very high since there is
easy accessibility and a high level of visibility making them a prime strategy of the Kia to
increase its influence on the customers.

3. Powerful and Professional Sales Team: The sales team leaders and the seniors are very
competent in terms of negotiation, objection management, and closing deals.

4. New 3S Infrastructure: A state of the art showroom and service centerinstills customer faith
and trust on the brand and dealership making the sales pitch easier and effective with very high
turn around ratio of the customer.

Weaknesses

1. Too much Manual Processing: Sales and lead tracking are being done inefficiently, with errors
and are not scalable through the use of Excel sheets and paper forms.

2. Process Bottlenecks: The physical sales operation is not geared on the peak loads and the wait
times particularly during the test drives are very long and poor customer experience results.

3. Liability to lack an Integrated CRM: The failure to have a common Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) system means lack of data silos, uneven follow-ups particularly on digital
leads, and missed sales opportunities.

4. Lack of Knowledge in staff: Due to lack of confidence and understanding of difficult issues in
finance, insurance and competitors, the junior sales staff may not be able to effectively manage
the more complicated queries.
 Opportunities

1. Digital Transformation (CRM): The huge opportunity lies in investing in an integrated

automotive CRM to consolidate all the information, automate the types of lead follow-ups, as
well as, receive business insights in real-time.

2. Expanding SUV and MPV Market: The market has an ideal fit with Kia products (Seltos,
Sonet Carens) which has formed a big and viable base of potential consumers.

3. Structured Used-Car Business: A gigantic prospect to use the Kia CPO (Certified Pre-Owned)
program in order to create some new high-margin trade-in revenue stream.

4. EV Market Entry: EV6 and future Kia EVs will have the niche of premium EV first-mover that
will become appealing to a new customer segment of affluent buyers.

Threats

Stiff Competition: The aggressive pricing, heavy discounts, and intensive advertising in the competing
dealerships like Hyundai, Tata and Maruti-Nexa keeps the margins at a steady level.

Economic Uncertainty: Customers who cannot afford to buy high value products may delay due to an
increase in interest rates on car loans and high fuel prices, which slows down the demand.

Supply Chain Disruptions: Customers can cancel due to long waiting times which might be from 6-12
weeks to popular models due to issues affecting the state of the global supply specially for the
semiconductors industry.

Customer Prices Sensitivity: Customer is highly informed via internet and price conscious, which is
hard to service profit margins.
STRENGTH: WEAKNESS:
Good Brand and Product Portfolio Too much Manual Processing
Prime Showroom Location Process Bottlenecks
Powerful and Professional Sales Team Lack of Integrated CRM
New 3S Infrastructure Lack of Knowledge in staff

OPPORTUNITIES: THREATS:
Digital Transformation Stiff Competition
Expanding SUV and MPV market Economic Uncertainty
Structured Used Car Business Supply Chain Disruption
EV Market Entry Customer Price Sensitivity
 9. RECOMMENDATIONS

Following the analysis and the findings of my 40 days internship at Empire Kia, the following are five
recommendations that can be implemented in the sales procedure, efficiency, and customer satisfaction
at Empire Kia.

9.1 Process and Technology: CRM Investment

Recommendation:
First and foremost, it is necessary to invest and introduce a special Automotive CRM system with the
highest priority. This will help in keeping the data organized as well as properly divided into walk ins
and online enquiries.

Implementation:

What this system would do is to consolidate all of the leads of the Walk-in and the Digital call leads
under a single and organized dashboard. It would allow the team to monitor all customer interactions,
reminders about following up, and could give managers an opportunity to view the sales funnel in the
real-time. This hand-to-automated lead management mode of conversion would produce a direct
positive conversion.

9.2 Improve Simple Communication in Finance and Pricing.

Suggestion:

Seal the so-called information gap and the so-called finance fog that raises organizational suspicion by
the customer making it hard of the sales team to close the deal and achieve there targets of the month
because of low trust.

Implementation:

As per my project, I found that the dealership needs to come up with simple documents of 1 page that
are printed in clear and simple form which consists of a standard on road price breakup of the vehicle
with an easy-to-follow display of Ex-Showroom, RTO and the insurance.

A Sample EMI Sheet: Expressing different sample EMIs of different time periods such as 3, 4, and 5
year loans of the main banking partners. This would render the pricing open and put the sales executive
in control to articulate the financials.
9.3 Process flow improvement

Suggestion:

Enhance the physical showroom process by taking initiative to combat the bottle neck of the test drive
which are faced by the customers.

Implementation:

Triage: go with a junior executive as an counter-check to having the required documentation done such
as verification of the driver-licenses during a walk-in customer on a weekend before he is given a senior
executive.

Scheduling: A plain digital calendar such as Google Calendar will be used, where the test-drive slots will
be managed, and the customers will be encouraged to book their time in advance. This is in
consideration of time of the customer making it more professional.

9.4 Improve the Process of Educating the Staff and Empathy

Recommendation:

Educate the junior staff and interns on how to address complex queries with confidence just like the
senior staff.

Implementation:
Have a formal programme design established such as the mentorship programme where senior
counsellors Team Leaders conduct weekly workshops one hour in duration to junior staff. The issues of
the discussion should be on the matters of dealing with objections like the details about the Tata has 5
star safety, Hyundai more features and simplifying the financial jargon. This creates a stronger and
understanding team.

9.5 Enhance More Attempts to Use Digital Tools to Counseling Staff.

Recommendation:

Invest in the sales force with modern and mobile-oriented digital platforms to build credibility when
interacting with a customer.

Implementation:

Action plan: Issue a tablet to every sales executive. This tablet is supposed to be loaded with:

Electronic brochures and 360-degree interiorization.

A mobile EMI calculator application.

An inventory dashboard: The executive can respond to any query regarding the price, EMI or the stock
on the spot instead of making him run back to a desktop, thus making him appear more professional and
efficient.

10. CONCLUSION

The 40-days internship experience which I had in A Autoworld Empire Kia gave me a holistic and
priceless work experience on the Indian Automotive Retail business, in sales, service, and stakeholder
management. I was directly involved in the fundamental sale operations, which has enabled me to
perceive the main challenges in the industry such ad competition, the process bottleneck and work on
some actual enhancements.
10.1 Key Takeaways

Customer and Market Dynamics: What I learned is that a strong brand such as Kia is a strong weapon
in the competitive market, but in the end, the sales executive will either win or lose the sale; this
depends on the way the sales executive is able to create trust and rapport. It is more important to
understand and alleviate customer pain points such as finance confusion and waiting times than the
features of product only.

Process Resilience: I got to know the paramount significance of a resilient process. The sales process of
the dealership worked well on a slow day and failed during a peak load weekends. This underscored the
need of planning, which is data-driven and agile.

Customer-Centric Approach: The internship reminded me of the importance of customer-centric

approach. The transparency in pricing and empathy priorities in communication are required in
establishing long-term trust and gaining referrals.

10.2 Strategic Growth

The education focused on the way of strategic development. Empire Kia needs to adopt digital
transformation to sustain its position. The store of the future in auto retail is in Digital world. Although
the dealership has already achieved a perfect and elegant showroom, test drive balance, it needs to
achieve a perfect and elegant CRM, lead management, data analytics balance to streamline its processes
and prepare them to scale.

10.3 Overall Experience

The internship was a huge value addition that provided me with the chance to use the theoretical
contents of MBA such as Service Operations Management, Process Optimization, and the CRM to the
real-life application. I have acquired new skills and confidence by working on major projects such as
query analysis and bottleneck mapping. This experience has reinforced my knowledge in the service
industry and further increased my determination to take up career in operations management and
marketing.

11. REFERENCES

In the References section, all the sources that have been considered are mentioned. Such sources prove
to be highly instrumental in justifying the information and the analysis made. The sources contain an
amalgamation of industry reports, governmental documents and reliable online sources through which
one has a holistic view of the Automobile industry and how EMPIRE KIA works.

References Like:

(2024-25)Report of the Federation of the Automobile Dealers Association. Monthly Data Reports
Visiting the Vehicle Registration Data.

Society of Indian automobile manufacturers (SIAM). (2024). Sales Data and Analysis in the Industry.

Kia India. (2025). Official Webpage and Product Booklets. (www.kia.com/in)

Autocar Professional. (2024-25). Industry Analysis News and Reports.

Economic Times (Auto). (2024-25). News and Trends of Indian Auto Industry.

Third-Party Aggregator Web sites: CarDekho.com, CarWale.com (to get competitor data).

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management. Pearson.

12. APPENDICES

Appendix A: Customer Survey Data Tables

 Table A1: Top Customer Queries

Primary Query Category Number of Queries Percentage(%)

On-Road Price 40 40.0%
Financing & EMI 25 25.0%
Waiting Period 20 20.0%
Mileage & Maintenance 10 10.0%
Safety Ratings 5 5.0%
Total 100 100.0

Appendix B: Lead Sourcing And Conversion

Table B1: Lead Sources and the Converted Ratio (June 2025)

Information Channel Number of Leads Leads Converted Conversion Rate

Generated (%)
Showroom Walk-in 120 18 15.0%
Existing Customer Ref 40 10 25.0%
Digital (Kia Website) 100 8 8.0%
Digital (Aggregators) 250 5 2.0%
Outbound (Tele-calling) 300 3 1.0%
Total 810 44 5.4%

Appendix C: Model Demanded

Table C1: First Preference of the Model

Survey Conducted: (June16 to July 31)

Number of people: 200
 Key Model Inquired Customer Inquiries Percentage of Responses
Kia Seltos 90 45.0%
Kia Sonet 80 40.0%
Kia Carens 25 12.5%
Kia EV6 5 2.5%
Total 200 100.0%

Customer Inquiries

3%
12%

45% Kia Seltos

Kia Sonet
40% Kia Carens
Kia EV6

Appendix D: Purchasing Decision

Table D1: Key Decision Making Factor

Key Decision Factor Percentage of Responses
Features &Looks 40.0%
Price & Mileage 25.0%
Safety & Build Quality 20.0%
Brand Trust 15.0%
Total 100.0%

Stakeholder Responses

22% Placement and Average Package

Brand Trust
Fee Structure
50%
12% Location & Infrastructure
Faculty & Accreditation
7%
Total
4% 5%
 13. GLOSSARY

This is a fast list that gathers the terms and abbreviations that are key in the field of the document in a
Glossary section. It makes the material understandable to this group of people who may not be in the
Automobile Industry sector.

3S Facility: This is a dealership model which involves Sales, Service, and Spares.

CRM Customer Relationship Management. Program to monitor all customer conversation, leads and
follow-ups.

FADA: Federation of automobile dealers associations. The major regulator of the auto dealers in India.

Lead: A customer that has expressed interest to buy a vehicle.

Conversion: A successful conversion of a lead into a paying customer (i.e. a booking or sale).

Phygital: A compound of Physical (showroom) and Digital (website) customer experience that is
created in a hybrid business model.

DSR: Daily Sales Report. A report that is prepared by the dealership that is used in monitoring important
performance indicators.

CPO: Certified Pre-Owned. An organized program to sell quality, checked, and guaranteed cars of used
nature.