Berndt Buchmann appointed new head of VW India Aftersales

Berndt Buchmann has been appointed director, Group Service of Volkswagen Group Sales India, with effect from May 1, 2014. As the head of Group Aftersales, he will be responsible for parts operations and warehousing, technical service and warranty, training academy for sales and aftersales and vehicle logistics for Volkswagen Group Sales India.
Buchmann (48), an Austrian national with a diploma in Master of Business Administration, has been in the automotive industry for over 20 years with rich experience in manufacturing, wholesale and retail.

He started his career with Audi AG in Ingolstadt, Germany and in his 10 years with the company was engaged in the field of pre-series production and program readiness, running a CKD project for Audi AG in India and later was the aftersales manager for Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Buchmann then headed service support Germany for Audi AG for over four years.

During the past decade, he was a part of the PSA Group, France where he held the position of director (Parts and Service) for Peugeot and Citroen in Germany, Saarbrücken and Cologne. He was also the executive director and chairman, Retail Organization of Peugeot in Berlin for two-and-a-half years.

In his new role as head of Group Aftersales, Buchmann will be reporting to Thierry Lespiaucq, managing director, Volkswagen Group Sales India.

In FY2013-14, Volkswagen India sold a total of 52,528 units, down 19.77 percent year-on-year.