Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced two major changes to its top management, according to a statement issued by the company. The company has announced the appointment of Muthu Maruthachalam as Vice President, Supplier Management & Logistics, Trucks Asia India, and Karl-Alexander Seidel as Head of Daimler Buses India.
Maruthachalam and Seidel will replace Ralf Mungenast and Thomas Fricke, respectively, both of whom have returned to Germany to take on new roles at Daimler. Maruthachalam’s appointment has been in from April 1, while Seidel took over from May 1.
“Muthu Maruthachalam and Karl-Alexander Seidel are highly capable leaders with a wealth of experience in the automotive industry,” said Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, DICV, in the statement. “Their competence will help DICV grow its business both here and abroad,” Arya added.
Maruthachalam and Seidel have been associated with DICV for a considerable period, albeit with a hiatus in between. While the former joined DICV in 2009, Seidel was part of the team that established auto giant’s foray into the Indian market, in 2008.
Both appointments are crucial to Daimler’s India business as the automobile industry here is probably facing its worst challenge ever on account of the economic slowdown, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maruthachalam’s responsibilities at heading supplier management, is even more crucial, on account of the stress that supply chains have been under during the nationwide lockdown.
Even before the pandemic, Daimler India was preparing to navigate choppy waters this year, with Arya projecting 10 to 20 percent fall in year-on-year sales, in an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18 recorded in March 2020.
The company shut its Chennai plant for six working days in September 2019, to battle tepid demand in the CV market.
Arya also said in March 2020, that DICV was actively looking for component suppliers outside China so as to counter the lack of component sourcing that arose when Chinese factories began shutting at the height of the country's COVID-19 outbreak.
First Published: May 11, 2020 8:22 PM IST
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