Excerpts from an interview with Gurpratap Boparai, managing director of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India:
Q/ Volkswagen announced the India 2.0 strategy two years ago. How has it panned out?
A/ We kept the India 2.0 project on track despite the disruptions caused by Covid-19. Kushaq has come out on time, as will the next one (Volkswagen Taigun) and the two that will follow later. So, within the next 10-12 months, we will have four products under the India 2.0 plan. Of course, the other premium products will continue side by side and new products will come there also. But, under the 2.0, which is addressing the mass segment, four cars (two SUVs and two sedans) will come out between the two brands in the next 12 months.
Q/ How much is riding on Kushaq to gain the much-needed momentum in India?
A/ We are talking about a 5 per cent market share in India by 2025 and Kushaq will be a big step towards achieving it. This will contribute a lot towards that target. A lot rides for us on this car.
Q/ Are the Kushaq and the other upcoming products going to be India specific?
A/ We will be exporting. Between Skoda and Volkswagen, there will be 30-odd countries where we will be exporting these cars to. Not Europe, but there will be more mature markets than just emerging markets.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin April 04, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin April 04, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
