6:35 pm, February 4, 2014
VAUXHALL chairman and managing director Duncan Aldred is leaving his UK role to take up a new job in America with parent company General Motors.
Aldred has been named as US vice president, Buick-GMC and he will be responsible for Buick-GMC sales, service and marketing in the United States. He takes up his position on March 1, 2014 and will be based in Detroit.
The announcement comes less than six months after Aldred boldly announced he expected Vauxhall to overtake Ford in the UK sales charts by 2016. However, Vauxhall finished 2013 more than 51,000 units behind the Blue Oval.
News of Aldred’s appointment will lead to speculation as to whether his successor will have such high hopes for the Luton-based car company.
Aldred’s move is part of a wider GM reshuffle. He will report to Steve Hill, vice president, US sales and service.
Hill said: Duncan has a broad understanding of sales and marketing and the right skills to help us delight our current customers and attract new ones.’
Vauxhall said it will announce news of Aldred’s successor ‘later’.
