Zoomcar President Adarsh Menon resigns within six months of joining

Adarsh Menon, who has over two decades of experience at Flipkart and Hindustan Unilever, joined Zoomcar in January 2024 as the Global President. 

His appointment was anticipated to bring operational efficiency and industry knowledge to the self-driving car marketplace listed on Nasdaq. 

However, his tenure was unexpectedly short, lasting only six months. Menon’s resignation, effective June 30, 2024, comes at a critical time for the company as it navigates through significant leadership and financial challenges.

Why did Adarsh Menon resign?

Menon’s resignation is not attributed to disagreements with the company, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“On June 26, 2024, Mr. Adarsh Menon, the President of ZoomcarZoomcar Datalabs_in-article-icon Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), resigned from his employment effective June 30, 2024. Mr. Menon’s departure was not in connection with any disagreements with the Company,” the company said in the filing.

The precise reasons for his departure remain undisclosed, but his exit follows closely on the heels of the termination of co-founder and former CEO Greg Moran. The sequence of leadership changes has raised concerns about Zoomcar’s future strategic direction and stability.

How well is Zoomcar performing financially?

Zoomcar's recent financial performance has been lackluster. The company reported a 19% decline in net revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2023, down to $2.4 million from $3 million in the same period the previous year. This drop was mainly due to a decrease in gross bookings.

Despite these challenges, Zoomcar projects revenue of approximately $9.8 million for FY24, up from $8.6 million in FY23.

 Additionally, the company anticipates a significant reduction in net loss, from $62 million in FY23 to $34 million in FY24.

Focused on addressing financial challenges

To improve its financial outlook, Zoomcar has implemented aggressive cost-cutting measures. These include reducing personnel expenses, closing certain subsidiaries, optimizing the workforce, and rationalizing costs for its India-based call centres. 

The company has also prioritized longer-duration bookings to maximize revenue and has reduced incentive payments to hosts by switching to a direct settlement process.

Despite these efforts, Zoomcar's stock performance remains dismal, with shares trading at $0.19, reflecting a nearly 100% drop since its Nasdaq listing.