Paul Franklin-Slattery has been appointed to the new position, which focuses on meeting the requirements of "blue light" services such as the police as well as other emergency services, tax-free buyers, military and diplomatic sales, taxi and chauffeur fleets, among many others. He will report to national sales manager Sally Livingstone-Dennis.

Nick Andrews, SEAT UK's head of Fleet & Business Sales, said: 'Having a dedicated expert on hand to deal with the specific demands of specialist fleets is a major step forward for SEAT.

'I'm sure Paul will very quickly explain the particular benefits of our range of dynamic, sporty and great-looking cars to specialist fleets nationwide.'

Franklin-Slattery brings 14 years' experience at GM UK, where he worked across the organisation including roles covering fleet, commercial vehicles, dealer operations and customer satisfaction.

He said: 'The opportunity to develop specialist sales at SEAT was too good to miss. The brand is so young, dynamic and exciting that I'm sure the appeal of cars such as the Leon, Exeo and Alhambra will very quickly lead to significant interest from specialist buyers nationwide.'