Owing largely to problems at its Manesar plant, in Gurgaon, Maruti sales have fallen nearly 7 percentage points in India. Despite the success of new launches - Ertiga, sub-4 metre DZire and premium hatchback Swift - the company has been struggling to fire-up sales. Industry sources says Ayukawa's experience of working in Pakistan with Suzuki Motor's subsidiary for over four years since 2004 should come in handy here. Besides, Ayukawa is not completely new to the country. While being mostly based out of Japan, he has visited the country several times to attend Maruti Suzuki's board meetings. V G Ramakrishnan, senior director (automotive practice), Frost & Sullivan says, "The Indian subsidiary is of strategic importance for Suzuki Motor as the country has emerged as the largest market for the parent company; Ayukawa would play a defining role in synergising operations between the two countries."