New Delhi: Vishal Bhat, beforehand head of aftersales and repair at Volkswagen and Skoda India, has taken cost of gross sales for the Skoda model, sources informed ETAuto. With practically 15 years on the Group, Bhat will now oversee the important gross sales perform as Skoda gears up for the launch of its much-anticipated sub-4-meter SUV in early 2025.
Ravichandran P is now going to switch Vishal Bhat as new head aftersales and repair. He has served in Skoda Auto Volkswagen India for greater than a decade the place his former function was head of Vendor Improvement.
In keeping with sources, the previous three to 4 years have seen Skoda undergo three totally different model administrators, gross sales heads, and advertising heads. The Czech automotive model has been with out a head of gross sales and advertising since April 2024.
Bhat goals to raise Skoda’s gross sales volumes
Bhat, a VW Group veteran, goals to raise Skoda’s gross sales volumes. Month-to-month gross sales have dipped beneath 3,000 items, resulting in annual gross sales of about 36,000 items. Skoda hopes the brand new small SUV will assist double annual gross sales to 100,000 items by 2026, supported by an increasing community footprint.
Bhat’s major duty will likely be managing the declining gross sales volumes and increasing Skoda’s footprint. Skoda Auto India ended FY24 with 44,000 items bought, holding a market share of 1%. The model has relied on CBU and components and parts fashions to take care of curiosity.
Vishal Bhat – the auto veteran
Bhat was promoted in 2023, he oversaw aftersales enterprise and companies for each Volkswagen and Skoda. Previous to this, he managed aftersales and repair solely for Volkswagen. Over the previous 20 years, he has centered primarily on aftersales and repair departments.
Earlier than becoming a member of VW Group, he labored for Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp. Bhat holds a mechanical engineering diploma from the College of Mumbai and a administration diploma in advertising and gross sales from Narsee Monjee.
