Yoichiro Ueno, chief executive officer and managing director of Honda Malaysia, has been appointed as the new president & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd with effect from April 1, 2016, the carmaker said in a statement today. Ueno replaces Katsushi Inoue, who has been elevated to the position of operating officer of Honda Motor Co, and will take the role of the COO for Regional Operations (Europe).

Ueno, who has been associated with Honda Motor Co for over 30 years, has served as the head of its Malaysia operations since 2011.  He has also worked in various roles in countries such as New Zealand and Thailand, Asia and Oceania, China and North America.

Apart from taking up the role as the COO, Inoue will also serve as the president & director, Honda Motor Europe. During his tenure in India, Inoue led several initiatives in the field of digitization to enhance customer experience and bring in operational efficiencies at the company and dealership level, the carmaker said.

Moreover, the company also witnessed significant expansion in its dealer network during this period. The carmaker currently has a network of 277 facilities spread over 178 cities across the country.