Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL) has announced the appointment of Satoshi Uchida as the new Company Head. SMIPL is the subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, and as part of SMC's global revamp, Satoshi Uchida succeeded Koichiro Hirao with effect from May 1, 2021, a statement from Suzuki Motorcycle India said. Uchida comes with more than 30 years of valuable experience across various global markets, and will be responsible to explore new avenues for growth and further strengthen Suzuki Motorcycle India's position in the Indian market, the statement said.
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"I am delighted to join Suzuki Motorcycle India again after a gap of just two years of my earlier assignment here in India. This company has always been very close to my heart. In fact, India is one of the largest manufacturers of two wheelers in the world. For us at Suzuki, it offers immense opportunities for growth and it will be my endeavor once again to further consolidate our base here in India," said Uchida.
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"As our global operations experienced a paradigm shift in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzuki Motorcycle India has also been taking various initiatives to align with the 'new normal'. The launch of our on-line sales module, and the 'Suzuki at your Doorstep' program have been our successful efforts in that direction. However, unfortunately with the second COVID-19 wave, the pandemic in India is now getting worse than what we saw last year. But we believe that our business in India will bounce back faster than expected, and I will be able to fully leverage our past experience of the Indian market once the situation gets better.
"Today, we manufacture or assemble the entire Suzuki Two Wheeler product portfolio available in the Indian market. Our Gurugram plant makes all these products to cater not only to the domestic demand, but also to cater to the demand of our overseas markets. I would like to further strengthen our commitment to the Make in India program in our efforts towards gaining a much higher market share in the premium segment," he added.
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Satoshi Uchida is well-versed with the Indian two-wheeler markets. He has worked at Suzuki Motorcycle India in the past, and was Deputy Executive General Manager - Motorcycle Operations (India/Middle-East/Africa) at Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan in the past. In his last role, he was assigned in the USA.
