Mr Browning is currently responsible for the global directing of the Volkswagen Group's National Sales Companies (NSC). Ge gas previously held numerous executive sales and marketing posts worldwide at General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company. He was vice president European sales, service and marketing at the GM Group from 2001 to 2008, and simultaneously also chairman of Vauxhall Motors from 2006 to 2008, becoming GM vice president global sales, service and marketing in 2008.  He worked for the Ford Group from 1997 to 2001, first as executive director marketing for Ford Europe and then as the global managing director of Jaguar. He moved to the Volkswagen Group in June 2010.

Christian Klingler, member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG for sales, said: 'Volkswagen will play an even stronger role in the important US market going forward. Jonathan Browning is an acknowledged expert on this market, its customers and its sales structures.'

'The USA will always be one of the largest and most important markets for automobiles,' Mr Klingler commented, reiterating the target to sell 200,000 Audi brand models and 800,000 Volkswagen brand models in 2018. 'Volkswagen and Audi will become leading brands in the USA.'

Jonathan Browning succeeds Stefan Jacoby, who has left the company.