Scoop! Nagesh Basavanhalli exits Fiat India

In what seems to be a sudden move, Nagesh Basavanhalli, president and managing director of Fiat Chrysler India, has quit the company. This move comes at a time when Fiat is executing its comeback strategy in India. Basavanhalli was appointed the chief of Fiat Chrysler's India operations on April 1, 2013. It is learnt that Pablo Rosso, current head of Fiat Chrysler in South Korea, will take over as the interim head of Fiat Chrysler India in January 2015. 

Fiat has been struggling to achieve success in the Indian passenger vehicle market, even though its engine manufacturing operation has been successful. After a failed attempt at having a joint sales network arrangement with Tata Motors, Fiat embarked on an independent comeback strategy in 2013. The recent launches of the Punto Evo and the Avventura are part of the comeback plan. Fiat Chrysler also planned to introduce the Jeep brand in India last year, but at the last minute postponed the Jeep launch due to the weak rupee and sluggish market conditions.

As OEMs with relatively smaller market share in India get busy with aggressive growth strategies in the coming years, Fiat Chrysler cannot afford to lose any more time. That could also be the reason why top bosses at Turin chose Rosso, who was stationed in India before Basavanhalli. Rosso played 'a pivotal role as an interface' between Fiat headquarters and the Asia-Pacific region, as product manager for India. Rosso's immediate task will be to fix the leadership vacuum in Fiat India.