Hyundai hires Ashok Jha ahead of i10 launch

NEW DELHI: Hyundai Motor India has announced a new president — former finance secretary Ashok Jha. DNA Money had reported this in August.

His appointment comes when Hyundai is in the process of making India a hub for small cars.

Jha’s familiarity with the functioning of the government appears to have been the main criterion for Hyundai choosing him for the post that has been lying vacant for the past one-and-a-half years since B V R Subbu left the company.

For Hyundai, having a president in Delhi is crucial to liaison with the government since the managing director, H S Lheem, operates from Chennai.

Jha is coming in just when Hyundai is gearing up for the launch of its third compact car in India — ‘i10’ — whose success could prove instrumental in deciding the company’s road map.

This car would be manufactured only in India and exported to most of the 70 destinations Hyundai already caters to from here.

Santro has been Hyundai’s bread-and-butter model and the company plans to position the new compact ‘i10’ between the Santro and the Getz. Jha said 35-38% of revenues are from exports but the export content would rise to 50% next year when the second manufacturing facility comes on stream.

“We are looking at 5.3 lakh unit production next year, of which about 2.65 lakh would be exported. By 2009, three lakh units of the total six lakh that we produce here would be exported,” Jha says.

When asked about his perception of the role he would play in Hyundai, Jha said: “Companies don’t need to be hand held by the government any more …. I will do much of what my predecessor was doing, not just liaisoning with the government.”