Former West Way Nissan managing director Tony Lewis will lead Stellantis' van operations into an agency model future after being appointed as the OEM's UK LCV director.

The car manufacturing giant said Lewis will lead the strategy, sales and marketing of its full LCV portfolio of Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat brands in his new role, taking over from Richard Chamberlain.

Chamberlain has taken the decision to “pursue other interests outside of Stellantis”, according to a statement issued by the OEM this morning (March 10).

The change of leadership comes after Stellantis delayed its plans to roll-out agency model retail into its van dealership network by six months, to January 2024.

Stellantis group managing director Paul Willcox, who Lewis will report into in his new role, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Tony to the team here at Stellantis. 

“I am fully aware of his extensive automotive experience where he led significant change and drove outstanding results with specialism in both LCV and B2B.” 

Willcox added: “I want to thank Richard for his commitment with the Group and wish him every success for the future.”

Lewis, who was West Way MD from 2016 to 2020, has also held roles as brand director at Jardine Motors Group, Infiniti’s director for Europe and various senior roles with Ford, Nissan and LDV.

Commenting on his new position, Lewis said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Stellantis UK as LCV director.

“Stellantis is the only OEM with dedicated UK LCV manufacturing plants, long term commitments to electric van production in the UK, the best-selling BEV LCVs, a here-and-now hydrogen opportunity and an unprecedented range of brands and models. 

“It’s a great time to be supporting the top team at Stellantis.”

Stellantis revealed its plans to establish its Ellesmere Port car plant as its new European centre for zero emissions van production in July 2021. The news ended months of speculation of the future of the site and its workforce.