Nissan today confirmed the appointment of Rakesh Srivastava as Managing Director, Nissan Motor India (NMIPL), reporting to Sinan Ozkok, President of Nissan India Operations. Autocar Professional had reported the same earlier. 

According to Sinan Ozkok, “I am pleased to welcome Rakesh to the Nissan India team. With his rich experience and deep understanding of the Indian market, I am confident he will strengthen our sales and marketing functions and successfully deliver our customer-centric strategy.”

Rakesh has a proven track record in achieving growth and transformation in the Indian automotive sector and brings with him 30 years’ of successful leadership. He joins Nissan from one of India’s largest conglomerates, the JSW Group, where he worked as director in charge of electric vehicle development. Prior to that, Rakesh has held senior management positions at Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki.

Rakesh Srivastava said: “I am excited by the opportunity to build and strengthen Nissan operations for our customers, partners and employees in India. Nissan is an iconic global brand and its leadership in technology and innovation will be a key driver and differentiator towards delivering value and aspiration to our customers in this competitive market.”

Srivastava, who has over 22 years of experience in the automobile industry, will have his task cut out for him at Nissan Motor India. The Japanese carmaker, which has been in India for a decade, currently has a minuscule 0.73 percent market share (April-July 2019). For the first four months of FY2020, Nissan has sold just 6,657 units (-50.35%) in the domestic market. However, it is faring much better on the export front, with shipments of 18,528 units (+22.26%).