Niraj Srivastava has been appointed as the Head of sales by the German car company, Audi. Srivastava replaced Anil Reddi, who served as the head since December 2008 till December 2011. Working with a leading corporate firm in the country as trainee in 1991, Srivastava has accumulated varied experience over 20 years. Before joining Audi, he last served as the Head of Car Product Group, Passenger Cars Business Unit, Tata Motors Limited.
Micahel Perschke, Head, Audi India, commented, “We have set a decisive course in India to growing our sales and ranking in the country and have already achieved the No.2 position in the first quarter. We have ambitious targets in the country and are growing not just in sales but also in our geographical coverage of the country. Niraj’s credentials in the auto industry speak for themselves and I am confident that he will be instrumental in developing our sales network even further and strengthen our strategic team as we move closer to achieving our long term targets in the Indian luxury car market.”
With diverse experience in manufacturing, sales, marketing, product development in both commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars, Srivastava, who is now 43, has 21 years of professional experience. An IIM-A pass out, he also graduated in Engineering with mechanical stream from BIT Mesra, Ranchi. At Tata Motors, Srivastava has served in all the aforementioned areas prior to joining Audi.
Delighted with his appointment, Srivastava, said, “It’s a privilege to work at Audi which is one of the most exciting brands in the global automobile space today. A true exponent of innovation and technology for progress, Audi redefines the phrase customer delight. Taking over the role of Sales Head for Audi India presents an exciting challenge and I look forward to bringing my experience to the table to ensure that we meet our targets and develop the market even further. I believe I have joined at an exciting time when the company has lined up exciting new model launches and showroom openings.”
The car maker's infrastructure comprises sales, after sales, dealer development, marketing, and press communications departments, headed by Niraj Srivastava, Gerhard Pretorius, Rahil Ansari, Jessica Geutner and Metabelle Lobo respectively. All the heads are supposed to report directly to Perschke who is Head of Audi India.
Delivering 3,281 cars in January-May 2012, the German company marked a 37 per cent growth against sale of 2,394 models in same period last year. Besides this, a 10 per cent growth was reported in the sales of May as it sold 450 cars in May 2012 against 408 cars sold in May 2011.
Audi Dealerships are available in Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi South, Delhi West, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai West, Nagpur, Pune and Surat. Besides these, the company may expand its network to Lucknow, South Mumbai and Goa as well. Products on offer by car maker includes Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi A7 Sportback, Audi A8L, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi RS5 Coupé and Audi TT. The super sports car Audi R8 and the Audi R8 Spyder are also sold in its dealership across the country.
