ETAuto pays tribute to auto industry leaders who left us in 2015
In their lifetime, they achieved immense success. Now, they have left a void in the industry.
In 1999, when Nissan was facing difficulties, Hanawa formed an alliance with French automaker Renault. He was the last CEO of an independent Nissan.
He even chose Renault's Carlos Ghosn to become his successor as Nissan president in 2000.
Nissan chairman and CEO Ghosn said "Hanawa - san was an important part of the Nissan family and at the heart of the Alliance foundation. He was an inspiration to many of us and an important contributor to the world's automotive industry."
He used aircraft technology to build racing cars which were, at that time, seen only as imported automobiles in Australia.
Using this technology, he probably built the first space frame car in Australia.
At first he started customisation of car models with balsa wood, moved on to auto shows, and later attracted Hollywood's attention.
He even opened a car rebuilding company in 1945 - Barris Kustom Industries.
Aside from the iconic Batmobile, Barris also created vehicles for the 1980s TV show "Knight Rider," and the 1960s shows "The Munsters," "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Monkees", and 1959 Alfred Hitchcock movie "North by Northwest."
He made the group focus on personal transportation and that, too, only in two-wheelers.
Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj said "I have lost a person whom I called my Guru".
In his lifetime, he served as the president of ACMA and SIAM, chairman of Industrial Relations Council of CII, member of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC), National Council for Electric Mobility, and of Automotive Mission Plan (2006-2016).
Under his guidance, the company gained a significant market share in Europe and US markets. He headed the company for 47 years.
He was famous for a discretion that earned him the title of "France's most secretive boss" by the national press - the company did not even have a communications department until after he retired.
He died at the age of 88.
He set up Marcos, and for a long time it was the only sports car manufacturing company in Wiltshire, England.
Known as the "father of the Z," Katayama won international respect for the Datsun Z as an affordable sports car at a time when Japan-made products were synonymous with slipshod quality.
He has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in both the US and Japan.
He was also the President of J K Organisation and a Promoter Director of JK Cement since its inception in 1994.
Singhania had even opened an university at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
He held Chairmanship in other Companies including, Jaykay Enterprises, JK Cotton and JK Traders.
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