Transfer of India 2.0 Product Responsibility to India (1st time in VW Group India)

In this landmark project, I led the transfer of product responsibility for India 2.0 to Volkswagen and Skoda Auto India, marking the first time that India was granted the authority to make product modifications. This project was pivotal in enabling India to take ownership of product updates and modifications for key models such as Taigun, Virtus, Kushaq, and Slavia.

Key Highlights:

Ownership and Empowerment: Motivated cross-functional teams (R&D, Purchase, Quality, Finance) to take full ownership of the product updates.

Decision Authority: For the first time, Volkswagen and Skoda Auto India gained the authority to implement product modifications, which had previously been decided at headquarters.

Challenge: The biggest challenge was the lack of decision-making power for product changes and no budget allocation for updates under the India 2.0 initiative.

Solution Development: Developed a detailed readiness plan for all functions, including training at HQ and securing approvals from the Skoda and Volkswagen Boards for product updates and budget allocation.

Innovative Features: Enabled the introduction of several industry-first features for the Indian market, including Matt Finish, Dual Tone designs, Branded Sound Systems, New Color Options, and Electric Seats.

Color Combination Forum: Successfully transferred responsibility for the Color Combination Forum to India, enhancing local input in design decisions.

Financial Impact: This initiative led to a profit improvement of €20M (~₹182 Cr) for Model Year 2023 and 2024.

This project was instrumental in shifting the decision-making power to India, fostering innovation, and improving the bottom line through strategic product modifications tailored to the local market.