Hardeep Singh Brar, Kia’s senior VP, sales and marketing, steps down, likely to join BMW India

Hardeep Singh Brar, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Kia India, has stepped down from the role, a person familiar with the matter told Fortune India. While the reason behind his departure is not known, reports suggest that he is heading to BMW India, potentially replacing Vikram Pawah, who is expected to take on a global role.

His departure was announced to the heads of departments last week. Fortune India was unable to independently verify the claims about Brar joining BMW India, and Pawah’s departure from the company. It is also not clear who will replace Brar at Kia India. 

Brar joined Kia India in March 2021, in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, and played a pivotal role in the growth phase of the company, where the company hit the milestone of one million cumulative sales, propelling the South Korean carmaker to among the top five carmakers in India. Brar’s tenure also witnessed Kia India launch nameplates including the Carens, the EV6—the company’s debut electric vehicle in India—the Syros and the flagship EV9, along with refreshing the Seltos, Sonet, and the Carnival. 

Hardeep Brar, a veteran in automotive sales and marketing—with more than two decades of experience under his belt—has worked with Nissan Motor India, General Motors India, and a 17-year stint with Maruti Suzuki. He briefly worked for the Great Wall Motor India, shortly before the China-based company abandoned its ₹7,895-crore project in India, in the aftermath of the Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan.

Kia India reported 22,315 vehicle dispatches in May, a year-on-year growth of 14.43% compared to May of last year. For the current year 2025, it recorded a year-on-year growth of 16.2%, largely on the back of the launch of the Syros. It operates through a sales network of 744 touchpoints located in 329 cities across the country. 

The company has dispatched about 1.5 million units from its Anantpur facility, which includes more than 3.67 lakh exports, since 2019. Kia facility at Anantapur has so far manufactured over 700,668 units (46.7%) of Seltos, followed by 519,064 units (34.6%) of the Sonet, 241,582 units (16.1%) of the Carens, 23,036 units (1.5%) of the Syros and 16,172 units (1.1%) of the Carnival.