BS People: Rajesh Singh

GM India's new VP has work cut out as sales fall

US-based auto major General Motors (GM), which has been struggling to rev up volumes in India’s sluggish automobile market, has brought on board Rajesh Singh as vice-president (vehicle sales, servicing & marketing, VSSM) to revitalise business operations.

Singh, who assumed charge on January 1, took over from Ashwani Muppasani, who had assumed the VSSM leadership role on an interim basis in August 2012. Muppasani will be moving on to a new role in GM, which will be announced separately.

In his new role, Singh will be responsible for vehicle sales, servicing & marketing functions of GM India. Singh’s appointment comes at a time when sales for the company in the Indian market have fallen 21.85 per cent to 57,402 units between April and November this financial year.

Sales dropped even as the company launched a new small car, Sail U-VA, and upgraded its Spark, Tavera and Cruze models in 2012.

“GM regards India as a significant growth opportunity and we are delighted to have Rajesh Singh leading our marketing, sales and service operations to accelerate our momentum here,” said Lowell Paddock, president and managing director.

An alumnus of IIT-Delhi and IIM-Calcutta, Singh will be based out of GM’s corporate office in Gurgaon and will report directly to Lowell Paddock.

In a career spanning over two decades, Singh has held various sales, marketing and network development positions at regional and national levels for Maruti Suzuki. He had started work at the company in 1992. Singh joins General Motors from Havells India, where he had worked as senior vice-president (marketing & sales) earlier last year (2012).