Fiat, Chrysler India now to be led by Nagesh Basavanhalli

Fiat Group Automobiles India Pvt Ltd and Chrysler India announced the appointment of Nagesh Basavanhalli as the president and MD for Fiat and Chrysler. The appointment which is effective immediately comes at a time when Fiat and Chrysler look to strengthen their base in India.

Basavanhalli headed the Chrysler India operations and was responsible for the company’s Technical Centre in Chennai. He will report directly to Mike Manley, CEO for the APAC region, Fiat SpA. In a recent interview with autoX, Manley had made it clear that India is a market which Fiat and Chrysler want to grow because of the sheer opportunity available and this move tells us how serious they are.

Fiats previous MD Enrico Atanasio will take on new responsibilities in the Asia Pacific region but his role has not yet been made clear. Basavanhalli, who joined Chrysler in 1994 has held various responsibilities from engineering to product planning and in various capacities. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore University; a Master of Science from the University of Texas; and, an MBA from the University of Chicago Business School. His experience and expertise will be an asset for Fiat and Chrysler as the coming year sees an expansion in its product line.