FORVIA has appointed Pankaj Kapoor as President of FORVIA India, effective immediately. In his new role, Kapoor will provide unified strategic leadership across the group’s Faurecia and HELLA businesses in India.
Kapoor will serve as President of FORVIA Faurecia India and Multi-BG Division Vice President, as well as President of FORVIA HELLA India. He will lead the Faurecia business with full profit-and-loss responsibility, with a focus on strategy, growth and operational performance. In his HELLA role, he will serve as the senior local leader and representative, supporting customer engagement, business development and collaboration across FORVIA’s activities in India.
Kapoor succeeds Anil Khandekar, who is pursuing personal goals. The two executives will work together through the end of October to support the leadership transition.
Kapoor brings more than 30 years of automotive and industrial experience, including more than 15 years in P&L leadership roles. Before joining FORVIA, he held senior positions at Cummins India, Hyva India and Tenneco India. His career has included leadership responsibilities across business transformation, customer growth and operational management.
At Cummins India, Kapoor led the Components Business Unit and was later appointed Vice President of the Distribution Business, effective September 1, 2024. Cummins had earlier described him as having extensive experience in driving business growth, setting strategic direction and implementing organisational initiatives. Before Cummins, he held leadership positions at Hyva, Tenneco, Motherson, Omax Autos, Federal-Mogul Powertrain and Uno Minda.
Kapoor had joined Hyva in 2022 as Vice President and Managing Director for India after serving as CEO and Group Head of Strategy at AMR AI Digital. His earlier career also included senior roles at Tenneco Automotive India, Omax Autos, Motherson Sumi Systems, Federal-Mogul Powertrain and Uno Minda.
He holds a qualification in Mechanical Engineering from Aryabhatt Institute, New Delhi, a postgraduate qualification in Business Management from the AIMA Centre for Management Education and an Advanced Management Programme from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
FORVIA has identified India as a priority growth market and is targeting a doubling of its sales in the country to around €900 million by 2030, from approximately €450 million in 2025.
In the Seating business, the company plans to expand beyond mechanisms and structures into complete seat systems and is targeting around 10% market share. In Electronics, FORVIA HELLA expects strong double-digit average annual growth in India through 2030, supported by demand for radar and battery sensors and microcontrollers. The company is also expanding production capacity at its electronics plant in Dhankot, Haryana.
“India continues to be a critical growth market for Forvia, with strong opportunities across our businesses. I look forward to building on the foundations already established, strengthening our customer partnerships and contributing further to Forvia’s growth and global strategy,” Kapoor said.
With his appointment as President of FORVIA India, Kapoor will oversee the group’s India operations across Faurecia and HELLA while leading strategy, business growth and operational performance across the two businesses.
