Tata Motors hires Maruti exec to bolster passenger vehicle unit

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd, India's No. 1 automaker by revenue, has poached a top executive from rival Maruti Suzuki Ltd as it looks to strengthen its passenger vehicle business and regain market share.

Mayank Pareek will join on Oct. 1 as president of the passenger vehicles business unit, Tata Motors said on Monday. Pareek was formerly head of sales and marketing for Maruti, the nation's top carmaker by volume.

His appointment comes as Tata Motors looks to revive weak sales of its passenger cars in India, which started with the launch of the Zest compact sedan in August - its first new offering in four years.

Maruti, where Pareek worked for more than 20 years and was involved in several new launches, including the hatchback Celerio and compact sedan Swift DZire, is losing the executive in the run up to the launch of its sedan Ciaz next month.

"His extensive experience in the passenger car market will play a significant role in harnessing Tata Motors' growth potential to help position the company as one of the leading passenger car manufacturers in India," Tata said in a statement.

Car sales in India, expected to be the world's third-largest car market by 2018, are likely to rise between 5 and 10 percent this year, after posting a decline for two consecutive years.

Tata Motors has in the past relied on its trucks and buses, as well as on strong sales by its luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover, to offset the weak performance of passenger cars at home.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David Holmes)