BS People: Philipp Von Sahr

BMW picks Sahr to take Audi head-on

The German car maker, BMW, which has maintained a lead in the luxury car market in India over the past three years, recently announced a change of guard at its operations vertical. While the current president, Andreas Schaaf, is set to move to the company’s headquarters in Munich, Philipp Von Sahr is being brought from Belgium-Luxembourg to steer the group’s interests in the country. Sahr will assume office on October 1.

Sahr, 54, is taking on the reins at a time when the company is facing stiff competition from its compatriot Audi, a luxury car maker from the Volkswagen fold. While the latter sold 4,000 cars at a growth rate of 43 per cent in the first six months of the current calendar year, volumes for BMW declined one per cent, even though it sold 4,457 units.

Both the companies now have entry-level models, which have been bringing in numbers for the company. Audi recently launched sports utility vehicle, Q3, to take on the BMW X1 (priced upwards of Rs 22.40 lakh) which accounts for over a quarter of the overall sales of the company. The Q3 received 500 bookings within five days of its launch. Observers say while BMW and Audi now have similar products, the Munich-based auto major’s relatively old portfolio has been stunting its sales.

Sahr’s challenge in his new role would be to generate excitement with the three new offerings BMW has lined up for launch, to retain its leadership position in the India market over the next six months. Sahr is an old hand at BMW, having joined the group at Munich in 1987. He has headed sales for BMW in Germany. He completed his master of business administration from the University of Munich. It now remains to be seen whether Sahr, with his vast experience, can rev up the fortunes of the brand in the country.