INDIA’S top vehicle maker Tata Motors on Tuesday (August 14) appointed General Motors' former India head, Karl Slym, as managing director, as the company battles falling domestic sales.
Slym, a car industry veteran, will head the India operations and the markets of South Korea, Thailand, Spain, Indonesia and South Africa.
Slym succeeds Prakash Telang who retired in June as the head of Tata Motors, part of the giant Mumbai-based steel-to-tea Tata conglomerate.
Tata's British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover will continue to be managed independently.
Slym is likely to join Tata Motors on October 1, the company said.
Tata Motors, which also makes utility vehicles and the low-cost Nano car, last Thursday posted a 12.2 per cent rise to `22.44bn ($406m) in quarterly profit, helped by strong sales of Jaguar and Land Rover.
But Tata Motors' car sales in India slid 9.9 per cent from a year earlier to 62,619 units and its profit from standalone local operations nearly halved to `2.05bn in the June-ended quarter.
Tata has warned that slower Indian industrial growth and a weak economic outlook would impact overall demand in months ahead.
