Automotive
WhatsApp for vehicle dealers and service centres.
Buyers ask about variants, prices and test drives on WhatsApp, and owners want to know when their vehicle will be ready. Answer enquiries fast, book test drives and service slots, and keep owners updated without a phone call.
What does Baat do for vehicle dealers and service centres?
For car and two-wheeler dealers and service centres, Baat puts sales and service conversations on one WhatsApp number. Showroom enquiries get a fast reply and a test-drive booking, service bookings get reminders, your dealer system sends job and service-due updates through the API, and every conversation is assigned to the right showroom or service advisor.
A vehicle buyer enquires at several dealers for the same model and visits the ones that reply first with a clear answer and a test-drive slot. Sales executives handle these leads on personal phones, so managers cannot see them and they leave when the executive leaves. On the service side, owners call again and again to ask whether the vehicle is ready, and service-due reminders go out by SMS that nobody reads, so owners drift to local garages.
How do vehicle dealers and service centres use WhatsApp?
Each of these runs on Baat today. Open one to see how it works.
Use case
Reply to model and price enquiries quickly
Every enquiry gets a first reply with the variants and an invitation to a test drive. Follow-ups continue until the buyer replies, and the sales executive sees the whole thread.
Use case
Book test drives and service slots
Confirm the slot with the date, time and showroom location, then remind the customer the day before. A customer who cannot come replies to move it.
Guide
Send service-due and job updates from your dealer system
Your dealer management system calls Baat's API to send approved template messages: service due, vehicle received, estimate ready, vehicle ready for pickup.
Guide
Route each customer to the right showroom or advisor
Assign conversations by branch, by sales or service, or by advisor. Managers see every open conversation across all branches.
Use case
Ask for feedback after delivery or service
Send a short feedback request after a delivery or a service visit. A complaint reaches the service manager privately, before it becomes a public review.
Example conversation
An owner who never had to call.
The service advisor sends the estimate, the owner approves it in the chat, and the pickup message arrives when the job is done. Nobody waits on hold.
- Shared Inbox: Sales and service teams across branches share one number, with each customer owned by one person and visible to managers.
- Journey Builder: Test-drive confirmations, reminders and follow-ups run on their own after every request.
- Broadcasts: Launches, festive offers and service camps reach owners and enquirers who opted in, segmented by model or branch.
Vikram Singh Online
- Hello Vikram ji, your car is in for its 20,000 km service. We also found the front brake pads worn. Estimate attached. Shall we replace them? 11:30 AM
- Yes, go ahead. When will it be ready? 11:42 AM
- By 5 PM today. We will message you as soon as it is washed and ready. 11:43 AM
- Your car is ready for pickup. The invoice is attached. See you at the service centre. 4:50 PM
An example. The people in it are made up.
Automation
Test drives that actually happen.
A journey starts when a buyer asks for a test drive. It confirms the slot, reminds the buyer, and alerts the sales executive if the buyer wants to change it.
- Buyer asks for a test drive on WhatsApp
- Confirm the date, time and showroom
- Remind the buyer the day before
- Ask the buyer to confirm or reschedule
Coming?
YesAlert the sales executive
NoOffer another slot
Why do vehicle buyers prefer WhatsApp?
Because they are comparing. A buyer looking at one model asks several dealers about on-road price, variants, colours and waiting periods. A WhatsApp message lets them ask all of that without a phone call, and keeps every answer in writing. The dealer who replies first, with a clear answer and a test-drive slot, usually gets the visit.
For the dealer, a shared number means every enquiry is visible. A manager can see which leads have had a reply and which have gone quiet, across every showroom.
How should a service centre use WhatsApp?
Use it to stop the “is my vehicle ready?” calls. Send a message when the vehicle is received, when the estimate is ready, and when the job is done. Let the owner approve extra work by replying to the estimate, so the approval sits in writing in the thread. Send the invoice as a document with the pickup message.
Most of these messages can come straight from your dealer or workshop system. It calls Baat’s API when a job changes state, and the owner gets an approved template message. The service advisor only steps in when the owner replies.
Do service-due reminders work on WhatsApp?
They work when they are read, and WhatsApp messages usually are. Send the reminder as an approved template from your dealer system, with the due date and a way to book. An owner who replies with a preferred day can be booked in by the service advisor in the same conversation.
Can we sell service packages in the chat?
Not from a catalogue on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Meta’s Commerce Policies list automotive services, including maintenance, among the services that cannot be offered through catalogues there. Explain the package in the conversation and book the service with the customer directly.
What do WhatsApp's rules mean for vehicle dealers and service centres?
- Meta's Commerce Policies do not allow automotive services, including maintenance, to be offered through catalogues on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Book and confirm service in the conversation instead of listing service packages in a catalogue.
- Vehicle parts and accessories are a restricted category in Meta's Commerce Policies. Check the current rules before listing them in a catalogue.
- Do not ask customers to send Aadhaar, PAN or other ID card numbers, bank account numbers or full card numbers over WhatsApp. Meta's policy does not allow it. Collect documents for registration or finance through your secure process.
- Message only customers who agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you. Updates about their own booking or vehicle are expected. Offers need their opt-in.
Checked against Meta's own policy pages on 21 October 2026: Meta Commerce Policies: Services, Meta Commerce Policies, WhatsApp Business Policy. Meta changes these rules from time to time, so read the current version before you start.
Questions vehicle dealers and service centres ask about WhatsApp
Can our dealer management system send WhatsApp updates?
Yes. Baat has an API and webhooks, so your dealer or workshop system can send approved template messages when a job changes state, such as vehicle received, estimate ready or ready for pickup. The API is available from the Growth plan.
Can customers approve a service estimate on WhatsApp?
Yes. The advisor sends the estimate as a document or image in the chat, and the customer replies to approve it. The approval stays in the thread, against the customer's record.
Can we send service-due reminders?
Yes. Service-due reminders can go out as approved template messages, sent from your dealer system through the API. Send them to owners who agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you.
Can several showrooms share one WhatsApp number?
Yes. Conversations can be assigned by branch and by sales or service, and managers can see every open conversation. Each executive and advisor can also reply from the Baat mobile app.
Can we sell service packages from a WhatsApp catalogue?
Not on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Meta's Commerce Policies do not allow automotive services to be offered through catalogues there. Book and confirm service in the conversation instead.
Read next
Guide
Webhooks: real-time events
Subscribe to real-time events, verify the signature, and handle each webhook payload.
Guide
Creating Your First Broadcast
Build and send your first WhatsApp broadcast: pick an audience, choose a template, and check it before it goes out.
Article
What counts as opt-in on WhatsApp
Meta requires opt-in before you message anyone on WhatsApp. Here is what a valid opt-in must say, where you can collect it, and what it costs you to get this wrong.
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Plans and pricing
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