Maruti Suzuki Veteran KS Johar Joins Dandera Ventures as Director -Manufacturing

Sustainable mobility startup Dandera Ventures today announced the appointment of KS Johar as its Director - Manufacturing. The automotive industry veteran will spearhead the setup and mass production practices of world-class production and manufacturing facilities for Dandera.

Sarth Jain, Founder of Dandera Ventures said, “Mr. Johar brings to Dandera a wealth of experience and expertise in setting up and scaling large automobile manufacturing capabilities. We are truly excited to welcome him to the Dandera family and look forward to him building a formidable and world-class manufacturing and operations infrastructure for Dandera, as we prepare to bring to market an industry-leading portfolio of commercial EVs.”

Johar brings to Dandera nearly 40 years of experience across automotive manufacturing and other business functions. Previously, he was associated as Senior Operations & Production Leader at Maruti Suzuki India, where he played a pivotal role in helping Maruti Suzuki achieve market dominance in the automobile sector through world-class products at the lowest possible costs. An automotive OEM expert, he was instrumental in setting up state-of-the-art green field plants from scratch at Maruti Suzuki. He also oversaw large operations, launch of various vehicle models and scaled up individual plant output to 300,000 vehicle units per year.

KS Johar, Director - Manufacturing at Dandera Ventures said, “The Dandera team has outstanding R&D capabilities in electric vehicle design and development, and has further impressed me with their clear vision and roadmap for supporting the global logistics industry’s transition to sustainable mobility with a rich portfolio of Electric Vehicles serving different needs.  I am excited to join them and look forward to playing a role in realising their vision through creating truly world-class manufacturing and production systems for their current and forthcoming range of EVs.”

Dandera in September announced the launch of its cargo three-wheeler EV, OTUA, with an industry-leading range of 165 kilometres on a single charge. The Gurgaon-based startup has designed and developed OTUA’s underlying battery system and drivetrain technology completely in-house.