SsangYong has appointed Phill Sargent as new regional aftersales manager for the south of England and Wales.

He joins Peter Howe, who is responsible for the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sargent started his career as a vehicle technician in 2002 before moving on to manage a mainstream dealership workshop and its eight-strong team in 2006. He then went on to work for a renowned dealer group in Monmouthshire as group aftersales development and support manager before moving to the Dick Lovett franchise in 2012 as its aftersales manager.

Mark Burrows, aftersales director of SsangYong Motors UK: “As the SsangYong vehicle parc expands, we are preparing for the future by investing in our aftermarket service, so we can look after our customers and dealers alike. I am delighted to welcome someone as experienced and as knowledgeable as Phill to the team.”

Succeeding Stephen Bucci, who stepped into the role of customer and technical manager, Sargent said: ''I am delighted to be joining SsangYong Motors UK at such an exciting time. The SsangYong product keeps going from strength to strength, delivering exceptional value for money whilst ensuring great reliability and quality. I am very excited to be joining this growing network and really looking forward to the journey ahead.”

SsangYong Motors UK recently confirmed plans to move into a new headquarters in order to support its desire to operate a national next day parts supply service to its franchised dealers.

Kevin Griffin, managing director at SsangYong Motors UK, said that the move came as the Korean brand embarks on the “next phase of development”, including its investment in pure electric vehicles (EVs).

Since the start of the year the brand has welcomed 10 new dealer partners in the UK.