InconversationwithZacHollis,
Director (Sales,Service,andMarketing),
ŠkodaAutoIndiaInterviewedby:SarmadKadiriThis is the first timethattheentireVolkswagenGroup
passenger car entitieshavebeenmergedinIndia.What
changes can we expectinthecompany’sIndianoperations?
The proposed mergerisanimportantmilestoneintheŠkoda-led
“India 2.0” project. Theintegrationwillleadtotheestablishment
of agile co-ordinationprocesses,fasterdecision-making,shorter
turnaround time, andincreasedefficiencyusingexisting
synergies. This willtranscendtoa strongerpresenceofŠkoda
Auto (and the VolkswagenGroup)inIndia,professionaland
personal growth of itsemployees,andsustainableprofitabilityfor
its business partners.
Reviving the Škodabrandwith“India2.0”isa hugetask.
Can you please expandonthis?
Škoda Auto, over thelast 18 years,hasearneda unique“value
luxury” positioninginIndia.Thereisa senseofstrongbrand
allegiance and we commanda substantialmarketshareinthe
segments in which weoperate.Throughrefreshedmodelline-up,
‘India 2.0’
to Mark a Major
Watershed
redesigneddealershipnetwork,streamlinedbusinessprocesses,
andinnovativecustomerserviceinitiatives,wearefocusingon
strengtheningthebrandinIndia.Toincreasetheaccessibilityof
ourbrandacrossnewergeographies,wewilldoubleourdealer
networkoverthenextthreeyearsunderthe“India2.0”project.
The“India2.0”productswillmeetthesamecorestandardsfor
safety,quality,anddesignthattheVolkswagenGrouprepresents
theworldoverandbeofferedata pricepointthatwillcreatea
paradigmshiftintheIndianautomotiveindustry.TheMQBplatformseemstobethewayforwardforŠkoda
AutoinIndia.HowscalableistheMQB-A0platformin
termsofsegments?
WiththeflexibilityoftheMQBA0platform,ŠkodaAutoisina
reasonablygoodpositiontoscaleandcatertoa broadspectrumof
thecustomersegmentsinIndiawithbodystylessuchas
hatchback,notchback,andSUV,etc.Weareevaluating
numerousbusinessscenariosandattherighttimea product
deemedsuitablewillbeintroducedinIndia.Withthe“India2.0”
project,ourmodeloffensivewillcommencewiththeglobal
premiereofa mid-sizeSUVin2020.Manybelievesmallcarmodelsarevitalforourcountry.
Whatplansdoyouhaveforthatsegment?
Withtheupcomingsafetyandemissionnorms,deemedtobe
regularizedin2019-2020,manybelievethatthesmallcarsmay
losetheirpriceadvantage.Thecustomerpreferencesareevolving
andwearecloselymonitoringthistransition.Underthe“India
2.0”project,wewillintroduceproductsthatmeettheneedsand
aspirationsofthevoluminoussegmentata pricepointwhichis
consideredvalue-for-moneybythemostdiscerningcustomers.Manybelievethatcustomersaren’tverykeentobuynew
carsonline.DoyouthinkIndiancustomerpreferstovisita
dealershiporisonlinethewayforward?
Whilenumerousonlineportalsprovidea greatplatformto
comparepricesanddevelopa considerationset,it isthe
automotiveretailexperience(offeringtouch,feel,andan
opportunitytoexperienceproducts)thatmakesorbreaksa deal
—preciselywhyŠkodaenvisionstobeatitsforefrontwiththe
newCorporateIdentityandDesign(CICD).WhatchangesshallweseeinŠkodaAutodealershipsand
after-salesserviceinIndia?
Wehavesuccessfullyrebrandedalmostourentiresalesand
servicenetworkwitha fresh,modern,andtransparentlayoutas
perthenewCICD.WewillcontinuetoofferIndia’sfirstfour-
yearservicecarepackage.With“ShieldPlus”weintroducedthe
segment-firstsix-yearwarrantyandhassle-freeownership
experience.TheŠkoda“EasyBuy”,anintroductory 57 percent
buybackprogrammeontheSuperbmodelrange,ispositively
ratedbyourpatrons.Our“SimplyClever”philosophyembraces
thelatesttechnologiessuchasAI-enabledChatBot.The
“MyŠkoda”appprovidesa single-windowinterfaceforthe
customerstointeractwiththebrandandvice-versa.
TheiConsultantandiServicehaveenableda tablet-based
standardizedsales-and-serviceconsultationprocess.ThePackage
PricingSystemOnline(PPSO)systemcoupledwithAutoPart,
aninventorymanagementandanalyticaltool,willensure
transparencyinpartprices,enhancedqualityofjobwork,
uniformityofchargesacrossservicenetwork,optimumstocking
ofspareparts,anda reducedturnaroundtime.Interview Zac Hollis
42 car india^ August 2019 http://www.carindia.in