Nissan has named Alex Smith as its new UK managing director.

Alex Smith, UK managing director of Nissan

Smith was previously director of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and has also led the commercial vehicles division at VW as well as group parts sales. He started his motor industry career in 1995 and has also worked for Ford and Kia with responsibility for operations, fleet, aftersales, planning and marketing.

Effective 1 October, Smith succeeds James Wright, who has been appointed vice president of Nissan Europe East, overseeing Russia, Ukraine, Central Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) and the Datsun Business Unit in Russia, among other entities. Smith and Wright will report to Guillaume Cartier, senior vice president for sales & marketing in Nissan Europe.

“I am delighted to welcome Alex to the Nissan team,” said Guillaume Cartier. “With more than 20 years’ experience in the UK automotive industry and a solid track record, Alex will be a tremendous asset to our business.

“Alex’s appointment, as well as the other senior management changes announced today, will strengthen our organisation’s ability to operate in an increasingly complex business environment and ensure we meet our goal of becoming the most desirable Asian brand in Europe by 2020,” Cartier added.