Guenter Butschek steps down as Tata Motors chief & MD
The automaker has promoted CV biz prez Girish Wagh as exec directorTata Motors had said earlier this year that former Daimler exec Marc Llistosella will become the CEO
Tata Motors Ltd said on Wednesday that Guenter Butschek will step down as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of the car and truck maker from 30 June. However, Butschek, who took charge in 2016, will continue to be associated with the Mumbai-based automaker as a consultant till the end of this financial year, according to a company statement.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors has promoted Girish Wagh, president of the commercial vehicle business, as an executive director to its board effective 1 July.
The management changes follow Tata Motors announcing earlier this year that former Daimler executive Marc Llistosella will become the new CEO as Butschek had expressed his desire to relocate to his native country, Germany, for personal reasons.
Tata Motors, however, later reversed the decision to appoint Llistosella for reasons that were not disclosed.
“I would like to thank Guenter for leading Tata Motors successfully over the last five years and creating a strong foundation for the future. I look forward to his continued inputs as a consultant to the company," said N. Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons Ltd.
“Leading Tata Motors over the last five years was an exciting experience. We are well positioned to leverage opportunities in both commercial and passenger vehicles. I look forward to my continued association with the company as a consultant in the coming months," said Butschek.
Tata Motors has been witnessing robust recovery in the passenger and commercial vehicle businesses since the second half of FY21, despite the adverse impact of the covid-19 pandemic. This was largely driven by stringent cost-cutting measures to boost profitability and cash flows, as well as introduction of products. The company has also separated its passenger vehicle business as a standalone subsidiary to attract potential investments.
“Tata Motors’ domestic business has successfully transitioned to a business unit structure with the commercial vehicles division headed by Girish Wagh and the passenger vehicle division headed by Shailesh Chandra. The executive committee is an experienced leadership team that has been successfully scripting the turnaround of the company and will continue to drive the business," the automaker said.
It said also that Wagh, Chandra, and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) chief executive Thierry Bollore will work closely with Chandrasekaran. Tata Motors has been pivoting strongly towards electric mobility and the company will continue to collaborate with other Tata Group firms to introduce new electric offerings in the passenger vehicle, small commercial vehicle, and bus segments.
In JLR as well, the British carmaker has announced the ‘Reimage’ strategy wherein it will reposition and redesign Jaguar as an all-electric luxury car brand by 2025 while Land Rover will evolve as a maker of luxury electric sport-utility vehicles.
Electric vehicles will form 60% of Land Rover’s annual sales by 2030 and the company expects to stop sales of combustion engine vehicles by 2036.
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