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      Arvind Saxena steps into the shoes of Neeraj Garg as new MD for Volkswagen India

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      Arvind Saxena has been appointed as the new Managing Director (MD) for Volkswagen India and will be heading sales, after sales and marketing department of company's passenger car segment. Given the current sales slowdown, it will be interesting to see how this will impact the sales figures for the company in India.

      The opening for the post of MD was created recently in Volkswagen India, when Neeraj Garg, the previous Director of Volkswagen Group Sales India Limited, submitted his final papers to the senior authorities. With this move, it can be said that the automobile industry seems to be going through a major reshuffle, as many top companies are following the same trend.

      Tata Motors recently appointed Karl Slym as the new MD and Vinay Piparsania took over the post of Executive Director, Marketing, Sales and Service in Ford India. Many others have also shifted companies within a short span, including Rakesh Srivastava (from Maruti to Hyundai), Pankaj Sharma (Maruti to Volkswagen) and Sudhir Rao (Renault to Skoda), to name a few.

      Prior joining the German auto major, Arvind Saxena was serving as the Marketing Director for Hyundai Motors India. He brings with himself over 30 years of expertise in the automotive industry, having worked with industry majors, including Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Fiat India. Saxena has performed several roles in the Indian automobile industry, ranging from General Manager, Area Manager, Regional Manager and Dealer Development to Vice President, Sales and Marketing.

      The President and Managing Director for Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited, Gerry Dorizas, feels that his company would be greatly benefited from Saxena's vast experience and professionalism. He felt that this would be extremely helpful in strongly developing the brand presence throughout the country, leading to its future growth. With respect to his appointment, Saxena quoted, “I am very happy to be a part of Volkswagen and look forward to newer and more exciting challenges in one of the country's most dynamic automotive company.”

      In the present scenario, figures are indicative of the fact that the sales of Volkswagen India are falling. Between April and June 2012, the sales volume have declined by 16.3 per cent to 15,539 units. As a result, the production of the company has also been impacted, going down to 17,533 units during the period. Given that Volkswagen India has framed plans of capturing 18 per cent of the Indian car market by 2018, the abovementioned sales figures may sparkle a negative impact on its ambitions.

      A large number of sales at Volkswagen are being driven by the Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan. It must be noted that the demand for Vento has gone ahead of the Honda City, which can be related to the fact that former has a diesel variant in its arsenal. Going forward, many new sales strategies are need to be devised for the ultra-competitive Indian auto market and it remains a mystery that whether the appointment of Saxena will make any difference in the Indian arm of Volkswagen Group.