IIM Indore EPGP Cohort Gets Marketing Strategy Lessons From Ford India’s Rahul Gautam

Marketing strategy needs to be technology-driven with sharp and focused communication delivery to capture the short attention span of the post-millennials, according to Rahul Gautam, Vice President- Marketing, Ford India.

Gautam was delivering a talk on ‘Indian Auto Industry and Ford’s Learnings’ as part of iKON CxO Guest Lecture series, an initiative of EPGP, the 1-Year Full Time Post Graduate Program in Management at IIM Indore on August 14.

Referring to the EPGP program’s focus on Data analytics skills, with five weeks of international immersion at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin, he also elaborated the high relevance of big data and data analytics in devising the marketing strategy in the overall business scenario.

The Sanand Vehicle Assembly and Engine Plant (SVAEP) is spread over 460 acres comprising Stamping, Vehicle Operations, Engine Plant, Service Parts Production.

Gautam spoke about Ford’s journey from introducing the first moving assembly line to assemble the Model T, a pioneer in hardtop convertibles and the growing presence of Ford in the Indian automobile market.

He went on to take inputs from the participants on the factors influencing the automobile market in the Indian context. The participants were quick to point out the important factors for Indian consumers such as value for money, greater presence across automobile segments, availability of spare parts and resale value.

Gautam then elaborated on Ford’s strategy in ensuring value delivery at the service centres through strict monitoring of dealerships. In order to gain a presence in the Indian automobile market, the manufacturing operations were shifted to India– Chennai in Tamil Nadu (the exporting unit of Ford Ecosport to North America) and Sanand in Gujarat.

Ford’s Chennai Vehicle Assembly and Engine Plant (CVAEP), spread over 350 acres, has an integrated manufacturing facility, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines. Set up with an investment of more than US$1 billion, it manufactures Ford EcoSport and Ford Endeavour and exports products to more than 37 countries across the world.

The Sanand Vehicle Assembly and Engine Plant (SVAEP) is spread over 460 acres comprising Stamping, Vehicle Operations, Engine Plant, Service Parts Production. It has an installed production capacity of 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per annum and manufactures compact sedan Ford Aspire and hatchback Next-Gen Ford Figo.

The session concluded with an interactive Q&A with the participants.