Vidyabhanu shifts gears to Porsche after steering Skoda’s pre-owned venture

MUMBAI: Abhishek Vidyabhanu has swapped his role building Skoda’s certified pre-owned business for a fresh challenge at Porsche India, where he will lead the marque’s approved car sales, corporate accounts and financial services from September 2025.

The 22-year industry veteran joins Porsche as national manager for approved and corporate sales after nearly four years at Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, where he established the carmaker’s entire corporate and pre-owned verticals from scratch. His stint there saw him turn a loss-making mobility division into a profit engine worth more than Rs 350 million, while also overseeing HR services, facilities and even office-space design.

Vidyabhanu’s curriculum vitae reads like a tour through India’s automotive ecosystem. He cut his teeth flogging commercial vehicles at Force Motors and Tata Motors, graduated to sales strategy at Mahindra & Mahindra, managed Toyota dealerships in Mumbai, then spent nearly seven years at Audi, first as area manager, then running the western region, before heading the German brand’s approved plus programme.

At Skoda, he coined the “certified pre-owned” nomenclature that Volkswagen and Kia have since adopted. During the pandemic, he also dreamt up contactless virtual demonstrations and steered the accessories business.

The IIM Kozhikode alumnus describes his philosophy as simple: comfort signals the end of learning. Now he gets to test that theory at one of the world’s most storied sports car brands, where the learning curve promises to be steep and the road ahead thrillingly uncertain.