[MDED]

Vikram Pawah, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India, has exited the company as of December 31, 2016.

His exit happens against the backdrop of an ongoing spat between buyers of early models of Harley-Davidson Street 750 and the company over repeated instances of brake failures in the the US cult brand’s made-for-India bike.

However, responding to a query from BusinessLine, the company categorically denied that Pawah’s exit is in any way associated with the Street 750 issue.

It said in a statement, “Harley-Davidson confirms that Vikram Pawah, Managing Director for India, has left the company effective December 31, 2016. We would like to thank Vikram for his contribution to our business in India, and we wish him success in his future endeavours.”

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...ce?ref=wl_news

[Nikhilb2008]

Some newspaper had speculated that he is heading to BMW as their India head. And given the fact that BMW is going to start selling bikes this year under their Motorrad division, his experience with Harley Davidson counts for a lot.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

BMW India is appointing Vikram Pawah to head its Indian operations and take over from Frank Schroeder current acting head of BMW.

The reason for looking at local talent stems from the declining performance of BMW India which has now slipped to 3rd position behind Mercedes and Audi.

BMW hopes that with local talent, there will be an upswing in its fortunes.

Pawah was earlier head of Harley Davisdon and stepped down from that post two days ago. With BMW bringing in its motorcycles under the Motorrad wing, Pawah could look after both divisions.

Source: TOI

[Akshay1234]

BMW is in third place because of the MD before Frank Schroeder was made acting head. He was the one who messed up, but giving less features, raising prices, lowering discounts, etc. He even took out all the petrol vehicles from the range save for the M cars.

Since Frank has become acting head, discounts have increased, many more features have got added. And we can suddenly see BMW becoming proactive!

I'm hoping Frank continues as head, would love to see what was in store for us.

It seems Vikram Pawah may only head BMW Motorrad, and anyway it would be strange for the head of a motorcycle firm to be made head of a car firm.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

BMW is in third place because of the MD before Frank Schroeder was made acting head. He was the one who messed up, but giving less features, raising prices, lowering discounts, etc. He even took out all the petrol vehicles from the range save for the M cars.

This is what Frank would say to the BMW board. The only sad bit is that it's like trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

... it would be strange for the head of a motorcycle firm to be made head of a car firm.

Vikram Pawah was with Honda Cars (and Power systems) for the last 15 years initially Australia and then India.

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Since Frank has become acting head, discounts have increase ..And we can suddenly see BMW becoming proactive!

When did giving discounts become a proactive measure?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

Vikram Pawah was with Honda Cars (and Power systems) for the last 15 years initially Australia and then India.

Discounts do help a lot in terms of sales. Its what the customers expect, and Indians love discounts.

[GTO]

Pahwa is a smart guy who brings 20 years of Honda experience with him. I heard he was enjoying his stint at Harley-Davidson, but maybe the car industry is where his heart is.

Must have gotten quite a $$$ package too. Indian CEOs are in huge demand and there are many companies (BMW included) which have been running under the command of a temporary boss. From an Economic Times article:

You need an Indian in the driving seat to succeed in India. Foreign carmakers seem to have reached this conclusion after expat chief executives fumbled and failed to make a dent in the country’s highly competitive and price-sensitive automobile market.

As many as five global carmakers have named or are in the process of naming Indians or Indian origin executives to lead their show in India, an indication of their increasing reliance on the more rooted local talent.

After expat exes fail, global automakers searching for Indians to lead their India operationsAfter expat exes fail, global automakers searching for Indians to lead their India operations - ImageETAuto has learnt that US auto major Ford Motor Co and German carmaker Volkswagen AG and are aggressively searching for Indians to lead and manage their India operations.

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

The reason for looking at local talent stems from the declining performance of BMW India which has now slipped to 3rd position behind Mercedes and Audi.

Philipp Von Sahr was a horribly incompetent boss. Under his regime, BMW fell from 1st to last place! He never understood how to position his cars properly (price, discounts, equipment) or push them aggressively (sales & marketing push). Of course, with Mercedes' fantastic new designs, I don't think BMW could have held onto the no.1 spot, but they could've been a strong no.2.

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

It seems Vikram Pawah may only head BMW Motorrad

I think he'll do well as the boss of BMW overall. However, his experience with selling luxury cars is limited, and hence it will be sometime before he makes an impact.

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

When did giving discounts become a proactive measure?

It's unfortunately like hotel card rates. The price lists of Audi, BMW & Mercedes are merely seen as 'suggestions'. The actual price depends on the pre-purchase bargaining. It's not uncommon to have a whopping 15 - 20% knocked off the car's price (in rare cases, it goes over that too).

[dZired]

BMW Group India gets a new President - Mr. Vikram Pawah

BMW Group India has officially announced the appointment of Mr. Vikram Pawah as the group's new President, effective from March 1, 2017. Mr. Pawah (45) had stepped down as Managing Director of Harley-Davidson India on December 31, 2016.

He will be replacing Mr. Frank Schloeder (42) as the President of BMW Group India. Mr. Schloeder will be returning to the BMW Group Headquarters in Germany, and will assume the position of Head of Business Steering - Luxury Class.

Link to Team-BHP News

[GTO]

And Harley-Davidson gets a new boss - Sajeev Rajasekharan. Doesn't seem to be a diehard car or bike guy (going by his Panasonic & Samsung experience) which is something I feel Harley-Davidson needs. Any way, wish him the best and hope he's able to grow the company.

Source