His appointment follows the departure of James Hopkins who has left Mazda to take up the role of head of remarketing for LeasePlan in the UK.

Mr Blank was formerly senior manager in charge of Mazda's European business with its independent distributor partners, and has been heavily involved in a number of special projects including the development of the long-term strategy for Europe.

Prior to joining Mazda, he worked as an automotive consultant at Roland Berger.

In his new role, he will report to Martin Benders, vice president, Sales Operations, who said: 'The overall Mazda Fleet strategy has not changed with Christian Blank's appointment. We will however increase our focus on residual value management and total cost of ownership to support a successful launch of our next-generation products. We currently have the most fuel-efficient, best-equipped and appealing Mazda line-up ever.

'On top of that, the launch of our sixth-generation products, starting with the Mazda CX-5 debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, will enable us to further strengthen our fleet business in Europe. This C-segment SUV featuring the full range of breakthrough SKYACTIV technologies including new-generation engines, transmissions, body and chassis – will be particularly well suited for our business customers.'