India Kawasaki appoints Shishir Sinha as sales and marketing chief

Continuing to expand its leadership team, India Kawasaki Motors (IKM) is learnt to have appointed Shishir Sinha as its new director for sales and marketing. Sinha has taken over his new responsibilities at IKM with effect from August 1 in Pune.

Sinha, who has come in from Harley-Davidson India in his previous assignment, has over 15 years of experience in the automotive industry. At Harley-Davidson India, his role comprised sales, marketing and dealer development.

Having joined Harley-Davidson in early 2010, Sinha was part of the team that established the American cruiser motorcycle brand in India. He is also credited for playing an instrumental role in establishing the dealer network and roadmap for the company. He has also worked with Mercedes-Benz India and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) earlier in his career.

According to Kawasaki, Sinha’s priorities in his new role will include bolstering the Japanese premium bikemaker’s presence in the Indian market.

It can be recalled that Autocar Professional, on May 22 this year, broke news about Kawasaki building its all-new assembly plant in Chakan. The company has already shifted its operations from Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi plant to its new facility with effect from July 1. While Kawasaki is working to stabilise its operations at Chakan and redefine its organisational structure, its priorities include product portfolio and retail expansion to ride into the newer regional markets.

Currently, Kawasaki’s product portfolio spans 18 motorcycles and their high-tech variants. This makes it the OEM with the largest portfolio of big bikes on offer, along with Triumph Motorcycles, among all premium bike makers doing business in India. However, the company currently has only 14 exclusive dealerships across India that also provide customers with aftersales services besides being the sole point of sale for new Kawasaki aficionados.

Headquartered in Pune, IKM’s current footprint is spread across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, and other growing cities. It now aims to double up its network over the next three years and is looking at cities such as Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Hyderabad and others.  

Also read: India Kawasaki eyes rapid retail expansion