Cox Automotive UK has appointed former Volkswagen Group director Alasdair Stewart as its client director.

Stewart will assume responsibility for the company’s strategy surrounding the management of client relationships across the group and will also sit on the UK group board, led by Michael Buxton, chief executive of Cox Automotive UK.

During his 30 years working in the automotive sector, Stewart has held a number of board level roles, most recently at VW Group.

His most recent role was managing investor relations, and prior to that Alasdair spent four years as managing director of Skoda UK, leading its growth in sales, from 45,000 to 75,000 cars; and market share, from 1.9% to 2.9%.

A statement issued by Cox Automotive said that Stewart also promised to bring global market knowledge to his new role having worked in both the UK and US markets across a number of luxury brands, including Bugatti and Bentley.

Michael Buxton said: “Our business is uniquely positioned in providing clients with solutions at every stage of the vehicle lifecycle, and in doing so, the priority for us is to deliver a connected experience for our clients.

“In addition to joining up our products and services, we are focusing on joining up our relationships, and I’m extremely pleased that we have someone with Alasdair's expertise to lead this area.

“His broad range of automotive and leadership experience across global sales, marketing, operations and customer services, coupled with an impressive track record of delivering results, make him a fantastic addition to the Cox Automotive UK leadership team.”

Stewart added: “I am proud and excited to be joining Cox Automotive UK at what is a very exciting time for the group, as the brands, products and services it offers can truly move the company towards its vision of transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns vehicles.”