Top Indian executives leave Foton Motor India

The Indian operations of Chinese commercial vehicle major Beiqi Foton Motor have not been making progress. The company's top executives, who were hired from Indian companies such as Ashok Leyland, Tat Motors and Mahindra Navistar, are reported to have either been fired or asked to leave the organisation. Additionally, around 24 more senior and mid-level executives have quit. These executives had been handling areas such as manufacturing, auto finance, servicing and marketing and sales.

In 2011, the company had acquired 250 acres of land in Pune and planned to invest Rs. 1,676 crore in setting up manufacturing facility. The company planned to start rolling out vehicles from the plant in 2013 and display them at the 2014 Auto Expo. While one source told Economic Times that the delay in introducing products is due to company re-engineering its products to suit Indian conditions, another one said that Foton has frequently been changing its product plans for India, thus causing harm to its operations.

Foton had announced an investment of $ 400 million in 2011. This is the largest foreign direct investment by a Chinese company in India.

Source: Economic Times