Date:07/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/07/stories/2005070701100200.htm

Back Arvind Mathew to take over as Ford India MD — New car to be rolled out by year-end

Our Bureau

Mr Arvind Mathew (right), Vice-President, Manufacturing and Supply, Ford India, with Mr David Friedman, Managing Director and President, Ford India, at a press conference in Chennai on Wednesday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , July 6

MR Arvind Mathew, Vice-President - Manufacturing and Supply, Ford India, will take over as Managing Director and President from August 1, as the company readies for the global launch of a new car by the year-end.

Mr David E. Friedman, Managing Director and President, Ford India, who will take over an executive position in the Asia-Pacific region, announced the change at the top and the launch of a new car at a press conference today. India would be the first market where the new car would be launched, he said.

India was one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world and Ford had aggressive growth plans for the country, he said. Both Mr Friedman and Mr Mathew declined to provide details of the new car - the segment in which it would fit in and the likely price - stating that it would be announced closer to the launch date. All that they would say was that it was a premium car with contemporary, international styling and would push Ford India to a high growth phase. The new car would help the company achieve its full production capacity of 100,000 cars. Mr Friedman, who joined Ford India in December 1998 as its Vice-President (Finance and IT), took over as Managing Director and President in September 2001.

Mr Mathew is a post-graduate in mechanical engineering and has an MBA from the University of Michigan. He has been with Ford Motor Company since 1990 when he joined it as a business planning analyst. He has held a range of engineering, product planning and new product implementation positions in North America, Germany, Spain, Turkey and the UK before coming to Ford India in May 2003.

Mr Mathew said his task would be to build on the infrastructure that had been built up at the company and grow the business. "It is not a sprint. We do things for the long haul," he said and added that Ford India had positioned its products in unique segments and would continue to do so in future too.

The new car, codenamed B376, will be slightly larger than Ford India's existing three-box car, Ikon. It will be launched in both petrol and diesel versions, according to reliable industry sources.

Ford India is expected to settle for a 1.4-litre turbo diesel engine for the new car.

The company is expected to show the car to its dealers during the meeting scheduled for Thursday and the day after at a resort hotel on the outskirts of Chennai. The meeting is also to discuss the launch and business strategies for the new car, according to the sources.

Apart from the change at the top, Ford India is also likely to see some changes in senior positions with Mr Vinay Piparsania, now Vice-President - Marketing and Sales, likely to head for an assignment with Ford in the Asia Pacific region and Mr V. Sivaramakrishnan, now General Manager with Ford India, likely to replace him.