Maruti Suzuki India appoints Hisashi Takeuchi as MD & CEO

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday appointed Hisashi Takeuchi as the managing director and chief executive officer for a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2022.

Kenichi Ayukawa, the current managing director of India's largest carmaker, will continue as a whole-time director, designated as executive vice-chairman for a period of six months till September 30, 2022.

These appointments are subject to shareholders' approval.

A graduate from Japan's Yokohama National University, Takeuchi joined Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in 1986 and started his professional journey with the Overseas Marketing Department, Europe Group of SMC.

In 1996, he joined the Overseas Marketing Department, Oceania Group of SMC and was promoted in 1997 as director (marketing and sales) of Suzuki Australia PTY Ltd.

Prior to his joining as joint managing director (commercial) in Maruti Suzuki India in April 2021, he was working as managing officer, executive general manager-Asia Automobile Marketing/India Automobile Department at SMC.

"I thank the board of directors for placing this trust in me. Maruti Suzuki is a great organization with a rich legacy and it will be my endeavour that we keep serving more and more customers both in India and the world with exciting cars that are good for them, environment and society. We will also try to build our business in a manner that strengthens Atma-Nirbhar Bharat and the economic growth of India," Takeuchi said in a press statement.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition, Ayukawa, who has been the MD of Maruti Suzuki India since April 2013, will continue to provide guidance to the company.

"India is one of the most interesting and promising automobile markets in the world and it has been both a challenging and a fulfilling stint for me. Mr. Takeuchi has an excellent understanding of the Indian as well as international markets and is placed well to lead Maruti Suzuki into the future," Ayukawa said.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki fell 1.17% or 89 points to ₹7,554.45 on BSE.

Earlier this month, R.C. Bhargava, the chairman of Maruti Suzuki, told Fortune India that the country cannot simply imitate the EV models adopted by the western world. "India is very different from Europe and other western nations, including the U.S. If we just adopt whatever strategies they are following, I don’t think we will be doing justice to what we need to do in India," he said.

"We use a very large number of scooters and motorcycles in India; the number is well over 200 million. None of the countries use two-wheelers for personal mobility," he added. "Car penetration in India is close to 3%, whereas in the E.U., it is over 50%, and in the U.S., it is about 87%."