Pilkington brings a wealth of experience across the remarketing and defleet industry, most recently in his role at Paragon Automotive and, prior to that, Manheim, where he was chief strategy officer UK and Europe and managing director of Manheim Remarketing.

His new role will see him based at BCA’s Birmingham logistics hub within the BCA Services division, which consolidates BCA’s inspection, storage and logistics services.

Pilkington said: “BCA is the market leader in Europe and has ambitious plans to add value across the vehicle lifecycle chain with a strong core proposition and a raft of complementary services and products. This is an exceptional opportunity to join the Group at the start of a significant journey that will alter the landscape of the vehicle services sector.”

Avril Palmer-Baunack, executive chairman, BCA Marketplace, commented: “We are committed to attracting the very best talent in the industry to join the highly experienced and successful BCA team, and Mike has an enviable track record in the industry both as a business leader and an innovator. Mike will play a key role as we continue to develop and enhance the broader BCA vision to simplify and improve the efficiency of the wholesale used car supply chain for our customers, alongside the exceptional customer service we always strive to deliver to the users of BCA Marketplace.”

She added: “With our recent investment in BCA Automotive, the largest vehicle logistics fleet in the UK with over 500 Car Transporters, our continued investment in de-fleet and refurbishment sites and our capability and innovation in imagery with Autos on Show, BCA is well placed to continue to broaden its delivery of the full supply chain needs of our customers. We are delighted he has joined us at this exciting time for the automotive services sector.”