Top Driver

Kenichi Ayukawa has taken India’s automobile market leader where it feared to tread earlier – success in premium cars.

- Chanchal Pal Chauhan

Since Kenichi Ayukawa took over as CEO and Managing Director of Maruti Suzuki Ltd on April 1, 2013, its share price has risen to ₹5,240 per share (December 8) from around Rs 1,400 at the time, its annual profit has nearly doubled to ₹4,571 crore in 2015/16 from ₹2,392 crore in 2012/13, while its market share has gone up by a spectacular 10 percentage points to touch 48 per cent.

There have a series of successful launches of new models, with the last two, Baleno, a premium hatchback, and Vitara Brezza, a compact SUV, having bagged enough orders to be considered ‘sold out’ for this financial year. Brezza has become leader in its segment within just 10 months of hitting the market. Two other models launched during his tenure, Ciaz and Ertiga – both of them ‘mild hybrids’, employing electrical power for several tasks usually needing fuel – are leaders in their respective segments, too.

In July 2015, the company rolled out a separate sales network, NEXA, for its premium variants, complementing its existing network of 2,000 showrooms, which has already sold over 150,000 cars – more than the combined sales of General Motors, Volkswagen or Ford in India. Around 125 NEXA dealerships have been given out, with each one of the futuristic outlets being developed at a cost of at least ₹25 crore.

But the two areas where Ayukawa has made the biggest difference are industrial relations and technology.

Ayukawa took over barely 10 months after the worst labour violence in Maruti’s history – when workers on the rampage with iron rods and wooden sticks at its Manesar plant set then HR manager Avnish Kumar Dev’s office on fire, burning him to death, and seriously injured another 100. In 2011, Maruti had seen a 59-day strike. Coupled with the violence and subsequent closure in July 2012, Maruti’s market share fell to an all-time low of 38 per cent.