à  KODA India names Sudhir Rao as new Managing Director!

"We are very pleased to be hiring Sudhir Rao as managing director (MD) for à  KODA AUTO India," says à  KODA AUTO CEO Winfried Vahland, adding, "he is a top automobile manager with many years of experience and an international background. He also knows the Indian market perfectly. Under his responsibility, à  KODA AUTO India will vigorously continue its successful evolution of the past ten years and further consolidate its good position.

Before joining à  KODA AUTO India, Rao ran an international car brand's India activities as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this, the 52-year old held several management positions in the international automobile industry, among them CEO of India's leading independent maker of engines and transmissions. Until the mid-2000s, Rao worked primarily in the USA and in Europe. He studied business administration and engineering in India and in the USA.

The Indian market has great importance for à  KODA's 2018 growth strategy. By 2018, the Czech manufacturer aims to raise worldwide sales to a minimum of 1.5 million per year. In 2011, à  KODA's deliveries in India rose almost by 50 percent to a new record high of about 30,000 vehicles. In the years ahead, à  KODA intends to substantially strengthen the growth trend on the subcontinent, especially thanks to the new Rapid compact saloon introduced in late 2011. The Rapid, produced in Pune, establishes a presence for à  KODA in the market's largest vehicle segment for the first time.