Skoda has announced the appointment of Gurpratap Boparai as the Managing Director of its India operations, effective April 2, 2018. The appointment of Boparai sees the position of MD at Skoda Auto India finally being filled after Sudhir Rao left the firm in May 2017.
Boparai served as the CEO of Fiat India from 2012 until recently and possesses over 25 years of experience in the automobile industry.
He joined Fiat in 2007 as Assistant Vice-President (Manufacturing and Powertrain division) and took over as head of the powertrain division in 2009, where he was responsible for business development and all the functions of powertrain plants from manufacturing and finance to HR and PE.
Boparai has also worked with companies such as TELCO (now Tata Motors), Ocap Chassis Parts, Iveco and Tata Cummins, where he developed his skills in manufacturing, vendor development and sourcing.
In an official statement issued today, the company stated that the Indian market plays an important role in Skoda’s global growth strategy. Skoda Auto has been commissioned by the VW Group to take the lead in developing a low-cost ‘Eco’ car platform based on the modular MQB A0 for cost-sensitive markets like India. Skoda aims to launch vehicles on this localised platform in India in 2020 when the more stringent crash and emissions standards come into force, the statement added.
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