Audi India appoints new sales head

Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, today announced the appointment of Mr. Niraj Srivastava as Head of Sales. Mr Srivastava takes over the reins from Mr. Anil Reddi who had served in the position since December 2008 and left in December 2011 to a group position.

Mr. Srivastava comes with a rich experience of over 20 years with one of India’s leading business houses and was with them since 1991 where he commenced work as a trainee and subsequently grew to Head Car Product Group, Passenger Cars Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd., his last position held before coming to Audi India.

Commenting on the appointment Mr. Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India said: “We have set a decisive course in India to growing our sales and ranking in the country and have already achieved the No.2 position in the first quarter. We have ambitious targets in the country and are growing not just in sales but also in our geographical coverage of the country. Niraj’s credentials in the auto industry speak for themselves and I am confident that he will be instrumental in developing our sales network even further and strengthen our strategic team as we move closer to achieving our long term targets in the Indian luxury car market.”

Mr. Niraj Srivastava, 43, has 21 years of professional experience in the automobile sector spanning across manufacturing, sales, marketing, product development in both commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Mechanical) from BIT Mesra, Ranchi and undertook a Management Education Program from IIM Ahmedabad. Prior to joining Audi India, Mr. Srivastava has worked across all the above functional areas with Tata Motors Ltd.

“It’s a privilege to work at Audi which is one of the most exciting brands in the global automobile space today. A true exponent of innovation and technology for progress, Audi redefines the phrase customer delight. Taking over the role of Sales Head for Audi India presents an exciting challenge and I look forward to bringing my experience to the table to ensure that we meet our targets and develop the market even further. I believe I have joined at an exciting time when the company has lined up exciting new model launches and showroom openings,” commented Mr. Srivastava on his appointment.

Audi India is structured in five main departments: Sales (Head: Niraj Srivastava), After Sales (Head: Gerhard Pretorius), Dealer Development (Head: Rahil Ansari), Marketing (Head: Jessica Geutner) and Press Communications (Head: Metabelle Lobo) directly reporting to Audi India Head Mr. Michael Perschke.

The brand with the four rings grew by 37 percent during January to May of 2012, delivering 3281 vehicles as compared to 2394 vehicles delivered during the same period last year. Audi India recorded sales of 450 cars in May 2012 – a growth of 10 percent over the same period last year (May 2011: 408 cars).