INTERVIEW WITH PHIL SPENDER - (PART - 2)

(A big smile breaks out on Phil Spender's face and with a twinkle he nods) No shifts in strategy. We got the idea (Josh) over 18 months ago, from the consumers. Josh is for the people and we won't take it away from them. Its been a great campaign. Really identified with the Indian psyche. We are pleased with the way its going and very excited as to what its done for us. (Poniting to the poster behind) That's the latest Josh Machine, the Sxi. I think you will see that its most consistent. We haven't changed. If anything, 'Josh' will just get stronger and stronger.

Largely, we are a home-town team. The South certainly is an exciting part of India, where a lot of development is going on. It really is the vibrant South. And I think we chose to come and do business here. We have got a strong presence here and I think it's the reward that came with being a successful home team. Just like playing cricket.

Well, the Indian car customer is evolving very quickly. I think that's because for many years, they really haven't had the freedom of choice. With the opening of the market, they now get to exercise their choice. They want everything. They have probably still not put a value on that. You can't get everything for nothing. You have to strike the right sense of balance when it comes to value. They are now beginning to realise that there is intrinsic value in a strong brand and a reputable company and a vehicle which is aspirational and desirable. A car is now becoming more of an expression of oneself. It is just not a 'price thing'. People are getting very discerning. They are following the global trends and they are wanting a vehicle which is an expression of their own personality. And then they move to how functional it is - does this represent good value? That's a big change from what the market was, probably only18 months ago, when it was really price-driven. And you can expect it to evolve even further. A lot of trends that you see overseas, are happening here in India and almost quicker than they did overseas frankly.

What I can say just now is that we will certainly not remain a single model business in India. It really goes back to the point where I was broadening the definition of leadership, The role of the Ikon is for us to become a fully functioning business, manufacturing, improving quality, managing distribution system. Once we have mastered that, I am sure we will have products above Ikon and products below Ikon, in the foreseeable future. But not right now, as we are still watching the developments in the Industry policies and will plan accordingly.

With your association with Narain Karthikeyan, do you plan to increase involvement in racing activity in India?

First of all to Narain's part. I guess, what we saw there was a young Indian trying to make it on the international stage. Motor-racing is hard enough and very hard for somebody like him, without India having a strong motor-sport heritage. The fact is that we were able to help him race and he did very well. We will look at what future opportunities are towards the end of the season. I think its been very successful for us. I have been particularly pleased with the progress that Narain's made. Beyond that, we can't really afford a motor racing programme, because we are still trying to build a business. The other big issue is the Government body of the sport here in India is having some problems with the international sporting association. Untill those issues are resolved, I really can't see us getting involved in a meaningful way, nor the other manufacturers for that matter.

Very challenging, very discerning consumers, as we discussed before, very hard to satisfy. The industry is wracked with over-capacity. Capacity utilisation is only about 60%. It is very competitive out there and I think at the end of the day, there will be consolidation along global lines. The strong will survive and at that point, the customer will truly be king. I am very optimistic that the automobile industry will contribute a lot more to the growth of the nation. More than the 5% of the GDP it is contributing at the moment. I just hope that we get the opportunity to do that because the job growth and technology transfer is great in this industry, much more so than in the IT sector.

Yes, its going to be a couple of years soon.

Chennai is modernising very quickly. The Retail shopping scene is changing rapidly. It's a very vibrant and constantly changing place. We are settling down very well. I have got my wife and my black Labrador here with me, I get to play some golf and relax with some friends. But, I don't think Chennai can be regarded as an International city. We are very pleased about the Chennai growth programme that we developed. Its about citizens taking pride in being involved to try and improve the amenities of the city. I think that needs to happen. If Chennai and Tamil Nadu is to attract Foreign Direct Investment and attract more business to this region, we all need to work together to help improve the amenities and liveability of Chennai and benchmark ourselves as an international city.

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