[ajayc123]

Sometimes I think, if it is Zac who really responds personally to all the tweets or has a personal assistant or a team to handle such responses.

I had once written an escalation email to Jeff Bezos on his so called publicly published email for resolution of an issue related to a lemon laptop delivered to me, and I got contacted by Executive Customer Relationship team (MBAs as I could make out from LinkedIn profile, really smart chaps compared to standard helpdesk) who helped me sort out the matter.

To me it sounds quite amusing if a highly paid Executive like Mr Zac (with all due respect) spends his time in responding to tweets, something that a smart helpdesk chap should be able to handle.

[lapis_lazuli]

He has lived up to his job description: BRAND director. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty on several occasions. Skoda 2 by way of numbers may or may not have been a success. His role was to enhance the perception and increase the sales by some reasonable number YoY: not do voodoo and go to a lakh sales per month. He has done very very well. Wish him all the best, but, this is still a rumour, folks.

[Dry Ice]

If he does leave, I hope he publicises this as widely as possible.

Otherwise, given Skoda’s track record, people will keep tagging him on Twitter for help.

[GTO]

A good man, true petrol-head and one who cared deeply about Skoda India. He was pretty much the face of Skoda India online, and will be missed. Especially by Skoda owners to whom he was surprisingly approachable.

Skoda India better find the right replacements. I kind of liked ex-CEO Gurpratap Boparai too as he had his heart in the right place and was making genuine efforts to bring Skoda & its notorious dealers back on track.

[itsmeparvathy9]

Zac Hollis has indeed been the man to spearhead Skoda since his arrival, he has played a great part in reinventing Skoda and help it increase its sales numbers.

[dvr08]

He definitely was a head turner for Skoda India. What he built is not just a better strategy, but the confidence in customers and re-assurance from Skoda India as a brand.
His successor has a big shoe to fill, but she/he can be rest assured that Zac has made the job a lot easier for them

Out of the 4 years of my rapid ownership, not a day I had a second thought about the decision to buy a skoda car.

[volkman10]

Peter Solc to replace Zac Hollis at Skoda India from September 2022.

Peter Solc began his stint at Skoda back in 2005 in the brand’s Central European Sales department. After holding various sales managerial positions in the Northern Europe region, he moved to Volkswagen Group UK in 2013, where he was responsible for the Skoda brand’s sales planning and supply. In 2016, he returned to Skoda Auto headquarters, where he became Head of Sales for the Eastern Europe region.

In the past five years, Peter has overlooked sales activities in markets such as India, Australia, North Africa and New Zealand. He took over the position of the position Head of Skoda Auto Russia on July 1, 2021.

The Volkswagen Group has suspended production at both of its plants (Nizhny Novgorod and Klauga) in Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The group recently announced that it is ending contract production at one of its plants where assembled Volkswagen and Skoda brand vehicles with Russian carmaker Gaz.

Source:

[ajayc123]

I am sure a lot of folks would be interested in Peter Solc's twitter handle now. . To congratulate and welcome him in the desi style.

[pqr]

I will always remember him as the man who gave India its first ever ‘ROBUST’ fuel pump.

What seems to be the real cause of worry for most customers now is that he engineered a people-based customer care system, mostly through his personal social media handles, which needed his regular involvement but was not backed by a strong process-based platform. This approach will not work seamlessly in the mass-market category in the long term, as pointed out by several other BHPians earlier. Maybe his successor has to come up with a more "robust" customer care system.

[solaris007]

I have mixed feelings about this. While Zac has done a lot of good to the Skoda brand over the years especially with his earnest "Twitter Support", which many folks are thankful for. I am not sure he has setup the overall brand for future success.

From a professional perspective he is leaving on a high and has a great resume to show for it it in terms of product launches and non-trivial sales of the Slavia and Kushaq. He will most probably have numerous great opportunities lined up - which is great for him.

However, he leaves behind a Skoda brand that has arguably compromised its USP in search for quick sales. Walk into any Skoda showroom these days and they will only be filled with all variants of the Kushaq and Slavia. Forget about Skoda's international and renowned bread and butter models including the Octavia, Superb and Kodiaq. Forget about even having a test drive vehicle available. Forget about any stock being available for the next 6 months (Octavia and Superb) or the next 12-18 months (Kodiaq). Forget about the limited edition models like the vRS or the Karoq. This is the "new" Skoda.

We can blame the Russia-Ukraine war as much as we want but I personally hope Peter has greater things planned for its future. As an aside, I really wonder if he will provide the same eager Twitter support that Zac did.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by solaris007

I have mixed feelings about this. While Zac has done a lot of good to the Skoda brand over the years especially with his earnest "Twitter Support", which many folks are thankful for. I am not sure he has setup the overall brand for future success.

However, he leaves behind a Skoda brand that has arguably compromised its USP in search for quick sales. Walk into any Skoda showroom these days and they will only be filled with all variants of the Kushaq and Slavia.

+100 to this. This is my opinion as well and the numbers of Slavia + Kushaq are nothing to write home about. If you look at the H1-22 sales thread, Kushaq has sold about 14k and Slavia about 12k over 6mths i.e. a combined sales of 4.3k/mth. The Nexon does 3x and Venue does 2x their combined numbers. Even the Kiger and Magnite individually sell more than Kushaq. I think the target set for the 2.0 transformation was way way higher and to most folks on the forum, absolutely unbelievable. The lack of a diesel hit them hard and then the 2.0 new products didn't live up to the Skoda USP.

If Skoda seems to be doing well, it is doing so against its own historical numbers and not against the competition - Zac has managed to improve sales marginally at the expense of profit margins and built-like a tank perception of safety that Skoda used to enjoy. Maybe that was what was needed and he did what he was tasked to do.

[ike]

He ran a twitter helpdesk for Skoda customers which will be missed. I'd respect his replacement even more if he is able to make Skoda customer care work without intervention from the country sales head.

[Sidjohri]

Sad news (if true) for Skoda fans. He did play his part in soothing irate nerves and trying to rebuild confidence in an otherwise deteriorating brand. Wish him the best for his new venture (again if applicable). And RIP Skoda India...

[gururajrv]

One thing this man thought was to have active engagement with the customers! He surely is a gem for Skoda. I hope whoever replaces him is going to fill in his shoes of active engagement! Else, Skoda India might see a rough tide coming towards them from customers.

[VinsWagen]

All the best to him! Will always carry a high regard for him. Reaching out to the consumers directly is no mean deal. He gave a persona to Skoda. Which other company had that personal interaction beyond the dealerships? And there he was, a human face for the company - everywhere else it feels like dealing with a mechanical system. He gave confidence and reassurance to the customer on a brand that needed it the most. Bravo and Farewell!