Volvo Buses has announced that Manish Sahi is to be its new managing director in India and will be responsible for the South Asia region. Sahi brings with him over 18 years’ experience in business development, channel development, HR and global sales across the commercial vehicle and financing industries.
Earlier, from 2003 to 2006, Sahi was also the national sales head at Volvo Buses in India, following which he had worked outside the group, before re-joining the company in 2010. In his new role, Sahi will head Volvo Buses in the region towards achieving the objective of becoming a US$ 1 billion company with sales of 5,000 buses per annum. This is part of the company’s Asia Leverage programme wherein India, along with China, will account for a significant part of the total sales for Volvo Bus Corporation globally.
This appointment follows the elevation of Akash Passey as senior vice-president – Business Region International, Volvo Bus Corporation, responsible for Region International and the chairman of the Board of Volvo Buses in India in January this year. Commenting on the new appointment, Passey said, “India will play a key role in the future plans of the region, with ambitious growth plans across commercial, product, industrial and market arenas. I believe that the diverse experience that Manish brings with him will be an asset in the future.”
Volvo has established a niche for itself in the city and intra-city bus transportation sector. With Mercedes-Benz and Tata Motors launching their own vehicles for this sector, the sector is set to see increased competition.