John Chacko Volkswagen Group Chief Rep in India

PUNE: The Volkswagen Group has announced the appointment of Dr. John Chacko as the new Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, with effect from December 1, 2010. Dr. Chacko (58) has played a significant role in the operations of the Volkswagen Group in India as the Technical Managing Director of Volkswagen India. He succeeds Joerg Mueller (48), who has recently moved on to a new responsibility at the newly formed Volkswagen Group Trucks Division. Dr. Chacko’s experience and expertise in the Indian auto industry will add great value as the company enters its tenth year in India. An engineer with a B. Tech degree from IIT Madras, Dr John Chacko has been a part of the Volkswagen Group since 1978. Previously, as Technical Project Leader for Volkswagen’s Project India, the Delhi-born Dr Chacko played a key-role in the decision making process towards Volkswagen Board’s resolution to take the step into the Indian Market with a full-fledged production base. He has played a key role in the successful setting-up of the Group’s production facility near Pune in the Chakan Industrial Park. His experience and expertise in the Indian auto industry will add great value as the company enters its tenth year in India. Speaking on his new responsibility, Dr. Chacko said, “I am excited as well as looking forward to the challenges in my new role. India is a strategic long-term growth market for the Volkswagen Group. It has been an enriching experience being a part of Volkswagen’s India journey through the initial build-up phase and I am confident of successfully steering the Group towards establishing a prominent presence in the Indian automotive market with the support of every member of the Volkswagen India family.” He concluded by saying, “Ever since the entry of the Volkswagen Group in India we have achieved numerous milestones and will accelerate our growth in India over the next few years.” Prior to his appointment as Technical Project Leader of the Feasibility Volkswagen Project India in 2006, Dr. Chacko held various positions within the Volkswagen Group globally. He started his career at Audi AG as an engineer in Logistics Planning way back in 1978. He went on to become the head of the Department and Director of Audi’s Logistics Operations. Following his engineering background, he changed to the Audi AG Manufacturing Engineering Division and headed the In-sourcing and Overseas Production Department. Responding to a call from the Volkswagen Group, Dr. John Chacko was transferred to SEAT SA in Spain as Director of Manufacturing Engineering with the task of integrating SEAT into the Volkswagen Group from the Engineering and Production System point of view. His return to Audi AG as Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Division in year 2000 coincided with the launch preparation of a firework of new products at the Audi AG. A crucial element of the Volkswagen strategy is to establish a long-term presence in India. With a total investment of around Rs. 3,800 crore (580 million Euros), it is the biggest investment by a German company in India so far. The plant has a production capacity of 110,000 vehicles a year which will be maximised by 2011, producing three models- the Volkswagen Polo, the Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Fabia. The construction of the plant commenced in 2007 and has been built in a record time of 17 months. In June 2010, Volkswagen India celebrated the roll-out of the 10,000th car from the plant.