Kia ropes in Great Wall Motors' Hardeep Singh Brar as sales, marketing head

Kia Motors India on Monday said it has appointed Hardeep Singh Brar (48) as National Head of Sales and Marketing, with immediate effect.

Brar, who brings over two decades of experience in the automotive industry, will be responsible for enhancing the automaker's position in the Indian market and for enabling the next wave of growth, Kia Motors India said in a statement.

Prior to joining Kia, Brar had served at Great Wall Motors as Director Marketing and Sales.

He has also held senior leadership positions across sales, network, and marketing functions at Maruti Suzuki, Volkswagen, General Motors and Nissan.

He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab and is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

"We are delighted to welcome Hardeep Singh Brar to the Kia Motors India family as we accelerate our growth strategy to expand to newer regions in India," Kia Motors India Managing Director and CEO Kookhyun Shim said.

Kia has been able to disrupt the Indian automobile industry and emerge as a market leader in a record time, he noted.

"With Brar onboard, we are confident of consolidating our position further through a more consumer focused approach," Shim said.

Kia currently sells three models -- Seltos, Sonet and Carnival-- in the country.