K K Swamy is between jobs. After spending a little over a decade running Toyota Kirloskar Motors as its deputy managing director, he made a quiet exit a month ago to move to Volkswagen India as its first managing director.
He is moving lock, stock and barrel from Bangalore to Pune, where he is set to take charge on July 21.
What many do not know is that Swamy is an amateur painter, fond of the Raja Ravi Varma style of painting, and that he makes short films featuring old people.
The 53-year old chartered accountant took time out on a Saturday afternoon to talk to Business Standard about his life in TKM and the automotive industry in India
What helped you make up your mind to leave Toyota to join Volkswagen?
I have been with TKM since the beginning of the venture. As the Indian representative of the joint venture, I went to Japan to woo Toyota to set up base in India. I have been getting many offers over the years. When the offer from Volkswagen came, I thought maybe its time to move on and to do an encore.
Volkswagen is no small assignment. Globally, they make six million vehicles and will be investing Euro600 million (Rs 4,000 crore) in India.
So far, German car makers have made their place in the luxury segment in India. BMW, Daimler and Audi together sell a few thousand cars and are status symbols. Will Volkswagen be different and look at large volumes?
I cannot say much about Volkswagen yet, as I am officially still not a part of it. All I can say is that they are big in other emerging markets like Brazil and China. They are entering Russia. I am sure they have big plans for India too. They are a multi-brand group with products that cater to all segments. This capability is very interesting.
Volkswagen has several world class brands, like Bentley Motors, Bugatti, Lamborghini and SEAT, under its belt. Will you be handling the entire portfolio?
(Smiles). I cannot answer that.
As the new managing director of Volkswagen, what car are you going to drive?
I don't know, but I would like to drive a car Volkswagen sells in India. That way I will get a first-hand idea of the performance. In Toyota, some of my colleagues were driving the Crown, a model they don't sell in India. I went for the Qualis and drove it as long as it was sold here.
Then, I drove the Corolla when it was introduced, and finally got a Camry. I took the Qualis again as my family car. The idea is to drive what Indians drive.
Bharat IV emission norms are just around the corner (2010). Are Indian car makers ready?
I am sure they are. We have been working on this for many years. I am sure most of them will be ready. The important question is whether oil companies are ready to provide fuel fit for the next-generation engines. We need a discussion on this, particularly in view of the losses oil companies have been suffering due to rising global crude price.
We need to see if Indian oil companies have the kind of money needed to invest in R&D. Otherwise, we will have next-generation cars without any petrol to run them on.
Are oil companies going to meet the deadline?
They were on track but with the recent increase in crude oil prices, I don't know what the current situation is.
Will Tata Motors' Nano change the way automotive CEOs think and strategise?
When the Nano comes into the market, it is going to create a new, huge segment. It may not even touch the segments occupied by existing players. It might touch the Maruti 800 segment but only marginally. Cost is not the only factor that governs consumer preferences.
If that is so, then black and white TVs would still be around. It is all about value proposition. Hence, a two-wheeler customer might see value in the Nano.
When the Nano comes to the market and we all get to see how it is made and how Tata Motors has managed to reduce costs, the industry will adopt it. After all, the auto industry is all about cost management. It all finally boils down to that.
