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BMW India head replaced ahead of tenure
Posted on 09 Jul 20123,488 Views Comments
Andreas Schaaf to return to company headquarters at Munich. He will be succeeded by Philipp von Sahr, currently President of BMW Group Belgium-Luxemburg
As it battles rising competition from compatriot Audi, German luxury carmaker BMW has decided to change its India president, six months ahead of the normal tenure of three years.
Andreas Schaaf, who took over at the helm of BMW India in April 2010, heads back to the company's headquarter at Munich and will be succeeded by Philipp von Sahr, who comes from Belgium-Luxemburg.
The sudden transfer of Schaaf comes as a surprise as BMW India is engaged in chalking out strategies to tackle the rising competition not only from Audi but also from Tata-owned Jaguar and Land Rover.
When contacted, a spokesperson for BMW India refused to read too much in the development. "It is part of a global realignment at BMW," the spokesperson said.
Audi is already breathing down the neck of BMW after pipping fellow German Mercedes Benz to the second position in the luxury car market. The company, that sold 500 units of its new MINI SUV Q3 within 5 days of its launch, sold 4,000 cars in the January-June period at a growth of 43%. On the other hand, BMW has sold 4,457 units in the same period but the volumes have declined 1%.
Audi's head Michael Perschke has said the company expects growth to be equally robust in the second half as well. "Ours is a dynamic brand and we have set the pace for our next level of growth in India. Our product portfolio, innovative marketing initiatives and focus on dealer expansion are some of the prime drivers in this competitive scenario... we are confident of further boosting our sales despite the economic challenges like high fuel prices, inflation, reduction in retail loans and rupee devaluation.
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