Sanjeev Prasad, MD, LeasePlan India, heading the global car leasing giant in the Indian market, in a conversation with 4Ps B&M, shares his strategic intent, commitment and the way forward in their efforts to clock revenues of Rs.320 crores for the year 2010
LeasePlan India has been in India for over a decade now but the brand is still not known to many in the Indian market. What reasons do you attribute for the same?
We have been in India since 1999 and today operate a fleet of around 13,000 cars. But as we are a company that is involved in B2B transactions, it is not viable for us to market ourselves in the mass segment and hence it leaves a lot of people untapped. Nevertheless, we have made sure that the consumers who are our target group are aware of the LeasePlan brand, all thanks to our activities and the aggressive business development approach that we follow. We are the #1 player in the Indian car leasing segment but the size of the leasing industry in India is very small today. However, it will grow very fast in times to come.
But BMW has pushed the pedal and entered the leasing segment; they’re now even targeting the individual consumers. Doesn’t this cause a worry for you? How do you plan to handle this?
It is good that a company like BMW is now getting aggressive in the car lease segment. The industry currently is too small – we are happy that BMW’s entry will help the whole industry to prosper at a faster pace. However, we at LeasePlan India will not tap the individual consumers and will still look at working with various companies. Going forward, we believe that the B2B arena has a lot of scope to grow and it will be this track that the company will follow in the coming years.
You individually have also worked with Maruti Suzuki in the past. What made you quit Maruti? How has the experience gained at the automaker helped you over the years?
I left Maruti as the Head of the northern region for sales and it was because of the entrepreneurial bug that I had within me. When I joined LeasePlan, the motto was to establish the Indian subsidiary from scratch and the challenge infused a lot of excitement within me. And of course, the experience at Maruti Suzuki has helped me in various business aspects while working at LeasePlan India.
And plans for 2010?
We will be investing around Rs.300 crores in purchasing around 5,000 new cars, which is almost double of last year. With demand picking up fast in the Indian market, we are optimistic about growth this year. The borrowing will be spread across various banks such as HSBC, ABN-AMRO, ING and IndusInd Bank. We are also open to the idea of providing buses, depending on customer requirements.
What kind of customer management activities is your company engaging in for long-term growth?
We have tied up with Bharat Petroleum, which provides smart cards for fuel management. The card is charged every time one refuels. While the bill is settled with the company on a cumulative basis after a defined period, the advantage of the card is that it also keeps a check on the car’s fuel efficiency. This year, we’ll be pushing this service much more with our customers
The business that you are in adds to carbon emissions – a big worry globally. What initiatives are you taking for the society?
We launched the global GreenPlan strategy in 2009 under which the first phase will include funding, planting and maintaining over 1000 trees in Delhi and NCR.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.LeasePlan India has been in India for over a decade now but the brand is still not known to many in the Indian market. What reasons do you attribute for the same?
We have been in India since 1999 and today operate a fleet of around 13,000 cars. But as we are a company that is involved in B2B transactions, it is not viable for us to market ourselves in the mass segment and hence it leaves a lot of people untapped. Nevertheless, we have made sure that the consumers who are our target group are aware of the LeasePlan brand, all thanks to our activities and the aggressive business development approach that we follow. We are the #1 player in the Indian car leasing segment but the size of the leasing industry in India is very small today. However, it will grow very fast in times to come.
But BMW has pushed the pedal and entered the leasing segment; they’re now even targeting the individual consumers. Doesn’t this cause a worry for you? How do you plan to handle this?
It is good that a company like BMW is now getting aggressive in the car lease segment. The industry currently is too small – we are happy that BMW’s entry will help the whole industry to prosper at a faster pace. However, we at LeasePlan India will not tap the individual consumers and will still look at working with various companies. Going forward, we believe that the B2B arena has a lot of scope to grow and it will be this track that the company will follow in the coming years.
You individually have also worked with Maruti Suzuki in the past. What made you quit Maruti? How has the experience gained at the automaker helped you over the years?
I left Maruti as the Head of the northern region for sales and it was because of the entrepreneurial bug that I had within me. When I joined LeasePlan, the motto was to establish the Indian subsidiary from scratch and the challenge infused a lot of excitement within me. And of course, the experience at Maruti Suzuki has helped me in various business aspects while working at LeasePlan India.
And plans for 2010?
We will be investing around Rs.300 crores in purchasing around 5,000 new cars, which is almost double of last year. With demand picking up fast in the Indian market, we are optimistic about growth this year. The borrowing will be spread across various banks such as HSBC, ABN-AMRO, ING and IndusInd Bank. We are also open to the idea of providing buses, depending on customer requirements.
What kind of customer management activities is your company engaging in for long-term growth?
We have tied up with Bharat Petroleum, which provides smart cards for fuel management. The card is charged every time one refuels. While the bill is settled with the company on a cumulative basis after a defined period, the advantage of the card is that it also keeps a check on the car’s fuel efficiency. This year, we’ll be pushing this service much more with our customers
The business that you are in adds to carbon emissions – a big worry globally. What initiatives are you taking for the society?
We launched the global GreenPlan strategy in 2009 under which the first phase will include funding, planting and maintaining over 1000 trees in Delhi and NCR.
Pawan Chabra
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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