The German car maker, Volkswagen's (VW) Indian subsidiary received a double whammy as its diminishing sales volume was topped off by the resignation of its top-most marketing team. On the other hand, the recently hired Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gerry Dorizas has been trying to rope in several important officials from its rival car making company, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL). This is an attempt by the company to revive sales and to sustain the possibility of attaining the targeted market share of 10 per cent in next couple of years.
One of the leading officials of Volkswagen, responsible for establishing six brands in the country, Director, passenger cars division, Mr. Neeraj Garg has expressed his desire to resign from the company. To be more precise, the company had recently offered him a promotion and a post in China, which he promptly turned down. Another crucial official, Head of Sales, India operations, Volkswagen, Mr. Sandeep Mandrekar has decided to call it quits with the German brand.
With top executives deciding to move ahead, VW is planning to rope in the CGM, Marketing, MSIL, as its new Director in the country. He will be succeeding Mr. Garg for the position. At the same time, Mr. Pankaj Sharma, who is presently serving as General Manager (GM) for True Value Business of Maruti will step into the shoes of Mr. Sandeep Mandrekar.
On being probed about the new job offer and the venture, Sandeep Mandrekar commented, “I don’t have anything to say as of now and would like to reserve my comments.” On the other hand, Pankaj Sharma confirmed the news saying that he has decided to quit True Value and will be soon joining Volkswagen as Head, Sales. Moreover, a company spokesperson of German car maker further confirmed that in order to pursue his objectives outside of the organisation, Mandrekar is keen upon quitting. He further added, “Neeraj Garg has been promoted and offered a post in China but the same is under scrutiny.”
Now it's a wait-and-watch situation, to see whether the newly appointed officials from MSIL bring along with them to VW some of the success secrets of the country's leading car manufacturer. But definitely, it is quite obvious that their stint at MSIL and the experience gained will certainly help VW in one way or the other.
