[Venkatesh]

Gurpratap Boparai has resigned from his role as Managing Director of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.

SAVWIPL Chairman Christian Cahn von Seelen will take interim charge of the VW Group’s India operations, with effect from January 1, 2022.

[Shreyas_H]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Gurpratap Boparai has resigned from his role as Managing Director of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.

SAVWIPL Chairman Christian Cahn von Seelen will take interim charge of the VW Group’s India operations, with effect from January 1, 2022.

Outcome of a not-so-successful India 2.0? Or is the group planning on getting a German national to lead VAG group in India, just like the Koreans and Japanese do?

[sri_tesla]

VW group should stop wasting money on these India 1.0, 2.0 roadmaps, platforms and go for EVs straight away. It's a shame that they could not even setup a CKD assembly unit in India which costs very little than all these fancy roadmaps with India-specific platforms. They are being beaten by Tesla in their home market and by startups and local OEMs in China. 80% of their sales in 2019 are from Europe and China where both markets adopting EVs at a rapid pace while VW group still wants to sell just enough to meet regulations. They are struggling to catch up with companies who have early mover advantage (Tesla, BYD, other Chinese startups) in EVs but they are doing the same mistake in the markets like India where they have little to no presence. These management changes are not happening just in India but all over the world for the VW group. VW group is still planning to have only 25% BEVs in 2026 while BEV sales crossed 20% in Germany, 18% in the UK, and 16% in China in Nov 2021 already.

It's going to be mayhem across the world for legacy companies in the next 2-3 years and India will be the least of their worries.

[fhdowntheline]

Given the spate of changes at the top levels in the Indian auto industry, one must wonder whether there is any merit to having new leadership make drastic changes to the strategy, or keep the old guard going (read MSIL). At least MSIL is on the path of least changes, max output over the years.

[arbardhan]

Why did he resign and what does this mean ? I thought they have decent cars lined up. Kushaq / Taigun received decent response.

[Aditya]

Gurpratap Boparai quits Skoda Auto Volkswagen India - Posts moved to a new thread.

[abhi_ank]

Interesting. I read an Autocar interview of his just a few days ago. Some way to put yourself out there just in time.

[Vibhav-Van]

That was pretty abrupt. Just as their India 2.0 was started showing some results, this leadership change won't help.
I wonder what transpired though? An insider scoop will be really interesting.

[i74js]

VW needs a person from Hyundai or MS (Like Mr. Khattar who is no more). These two companies have tasted success and sustained it.

As right said, India 1.0 and 2.0 may not make any sense untill the vision and strategy is robust enough.

[Nithesh_M]

Till the point that Skoda and VW start heavily promoting their intention to lower maintenance costs over long term ownership periods and to offer long term warranty as standard they will not meet their intended sales targets. Doesn't help that they build cars to fight the Koreans and not only is their product fighting with one arm tied behind their back (size department) but they also end up bringing the knife to a gun fight (compromised interior quality and "Robust" fuel pump and other warnings) situation.

I loved the Rapid i test drove but didn't end up buying one after one look at their authorised service center in town which looked like a place where commercial vehicles are taken to scrap

The dealership experience was good and I expected nothing less when the brand was struggling to move each car out of their dealerships. I also felt pity for the staff who are told to dance and sing and cut cake en masse and make their customer feel like a king. I know Jeep dealers who performed skits for Bollywood actors buying their Compass and It wouldn't have been any different except these poor employees feel like they're doing it to save their jobs as opposed to the former doing it for promotion.

[veyron_head]

I personally think VW should axe one of the two brands in india and focus solely on the other. Skoda seems to have more brand capital than VW. They could consider axing the VW brand.

This will help them put all the muscle behind Skoda which hopefully will lead to better products and service. It will also stop one product from the group cannibalizing the other (kushaq vs Trigun for eg).

[Swarup5]

This just is very similar to what happened with Ford transformations.

Back in 2015 when Ford desperately tried to give an image makeover of the High Maintainance cars bought in the new Localization plan through which service costs were reduced ( at a cost) and parts were sold at almost MSIL price levels. New launches were done ( Figo twins, Freestyle, Ecosport, Endeavour ). The company still had to shut shop as it didn't turn profitable.

The product pipeline was strong and the products were good. Just a sad end due to simple economics of scale which one should understand when operating in India.


The mantra for the Indian market is simple ( Pun Intended )

- Give a car which gives mileage of a two-wheeler.

- Price a car not more than Maruti or Hyundai equivalents.

- Don't ever forget a sunroof ( Panoramic, Moon roof or whatever ). Though it doesn't get used much.

- Gizmos are important i.e Air purifier, Cooled seats, Cooled glove box, Wireless charger ( at least match competition ).

- Ground clearance of a proper SUV meant for off-roading. Yes, we are always off-road inside the city too. Though its a Micro/Nano SUV we need to stare back at someone sitting high up in a Fortuner .



After that, only if budget permits include the below. ( Pun Intended )

- Provide 6 Airbags.

- ABS/EBD/HH/TPMS/ADAS/ISOFIX etc.

- Reliable mechanicals under the hood.

- GNCAP 5* or greater is optional. We anyways don't think GNCAP is doing the right crash testing. Any car driven fast can split into two. ( yes I'm staring at you Kia )

- Metal sheets of good quality only if there is still some money to spare. We are ok with Tin ish build as long as mileage is good.

[balajiisworking]

I would imagine this paving the way for Mr. Hollis to take that position. He has done well in the redemption process for Škoda brand. They have aggressively expanded dealer footprint, and is in the middle of an offensive with a spate of launches (Kushaq, Slavia and the new Kodiaq).

But who knows….

If this is a first domino in VW packing up, I would be very disappointed having picked up a Kushaq a few weeks ago.

[21Archer84]

Contrary to what fellow BHPians above felt, I feel the India 2.0 strategy has been a path to success for Skoda and VW. Sales have been gradually improving with New products being developed and launched, increase in dealership footprint and the management trying to be customer focused(atleast Zac Hollis is).
That said, there is still lot to do. The current product line-up isn't sufficient for better sales. I always felt the Fabia and Polo needed better opportunity in the Indian market.
Mr.Boparai is an enthusiastic person. I wonder if there's either greed from the German HQ (now that the strategy is in place and execution in process) or something really not working out that made Boparai to leave. Skoda to me is currently in a similar situation to what Tata was when Karl Slym died. Hope they find the right person to fill Mr.Boparai's shoes and succeed in the Indian market.

[IamNikhil]

There's definitely a Sales Pressure angle to his resignation, IMHO. The India 2.0 strategy was being touted as the true rejuvenation of Skoda's sagging market share. Since they haven't tasted the kind of success they set out to, with this new strategy, some heads were definitely meant to roll.

Considering his perch, this definitely wasn't sudden and would have been in process for quite a while now. Gurpratap surely is already toying with super offers from competition.