Volkswagen UK’s gross sales director James Douglas has left the carmaker to tackle a brand new position within the leasing sector.

Douglas has joined Motability Operations as its producer and community partnerships director, after 11 years with Volkswagen Group UK, most lately as gross sales director of Volkswagen passenger vehicles after Patrick McGillycuddy give up to affix Jaguar Land Rover.

He’s tasked with creating and delivering Motability Operations’ supplier and producer technique, constructing on the prevailing partnerships it has and creating new ones.

As a leasing provider to people in receipt of sure incapacity advantages, Motability is the UK’s largest fleet, accounting for simply over one in 10 of each new vehicles registered and remarketing end-of-lease vehicles by way of its MFL Direct division to franchised sellers principally.

“I’ve spent the final 20 years working for producers’ nationwide gross sales firms and I’m proud to have supported the Motability Scheme all through my a few years within the business,” stated Douglas.

“I’ve a long-standing skilled and private respect for the scheme and the life-changing influence it has for thus many individuals.

“Automotive producers are shifting into an EV future, whereas on the identical time creating distribution constructions to interact prospects in digital environments, and I’m excited to assist Motability Operations navigate by way of the market adjustments.”

Motability Operations lately marked 45 years of serving to disabled folks and their households entry impartial mobility with a pledge to creating certain nobody is left behind because the UK transitions to electrical.

It presently has over 670,000 prospects on the street so the influence of an electrical transition is critical, it stated.

It launched the New Car Fee in February 2022, and as the price of new vehicles continues to rise in 2023 it’s investing £525m to make sure all its automotive and wheelchair accessible car (WAV) prospects will now obtain a £750 fee once they get their new car.

In 2018 the organisation, which administers the scheme on behalf of the charity Motability, was criticised by the Nationwide Audit Workplace for insufficient governance and making excessive ranges of unplanned revenue and enormous monetary reserves, resulting in its then chief government Mike Betts to step down.

The NAO discovered on the time that Motability’s prospects had been charged £390 million greater than was required to cowl lease prices, and it was holding £2.62 billion in reserves – considerably increased than main automotive leasing firms. 

Its accounts for the yr to September 2022 present that Motability Operations Group made £1.1 billion pre-tax revenue from £4.7bn revenues. It made a acquire of £723.4m from the disposal of ex-lease automobiles, up from £416.4m the prior yr.