There was a certain positive energy that I could feel while entering the Volkswagen India headquarters at Pune (Chakan) recently. Probably, it had to do with the renewed confidence the VW team is experiencing post the launch of the Ameo. Or maybe it is because of the arrival of the festive season. Or perhaps, it is the good monsoon that has blessed almost the entire nation this year. Or it could be that the VW team is all geared up with the Ameo diesel version for the festive season. Well, in most likelihood, it is all of the above. But nevertheless, it did feel good.
Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President & Managing Director, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. has taken charge about 14-15 months back and he's been a very busy man since then. The ups and downs of the market haven't given him much of a breather and yet he comes across with genuine excitement and enthusiasm. We first catch a quick glimpse of him while he is ‘judging' the eco-friendly Ganesh makhars (the decorative temples in which the Ganesh idols are installed at homes during the festival) made by Volkswagen employees. The makhars on display were made primarily from the scrap from the plant and Dr. Lauermann is assessing them to select a winner. The characteristic German seriousness cannot be missed from his face but you can also see that he is enjoying the creativity while trying to understand the concepts.
He selects his winner and then quickly joins us in his office. The VW Corporate Communication team informs me that he has to rush to Mumbai immediately after this interview and so we get on with the job quickly by asking about his journey in India so far. "It has been a very fast journey through this one year. India is really running fast and one year is simply
nothing if you are to understand this country and market properly. You need some time to get the knowledge about the country, its behaviour and the culture. So it's been short time but overall it was a good year. Of course, there have been a lot of ups and also downs; downs for which we were not really prepared. But today, we are very optimistic. With the launch
of the Ameo, we are really happy and this is running well. The Skoda Rapid GP is also coming out before the festival; so we can be very proud of the achievement in this year," he says and surely the pride shows in his smile.
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