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

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

He’s tasked with creating and delivering Motability Operations’ vendor and producer technique, constructing on the present 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 trade,” mentioned Douglas.

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

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

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

It at present has over 670,000 clients on the highway so the affect of an electrical transition is critical, it mentioned.

It launched the New Automobile 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 automobile (WAV) clients will now obtain a £750 fee once they get their new automobile.

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 huge monetary reserves, resulting in its then chief govt Mike Betts to step down.

The NAO discovered on the time that Motability’s clients had been charged £390 million greater than was required to cowl lease prices, and it was holding £2.62 billion in reserves – considerably larger 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 achieve of £723.4m from the disposal of ex-lease automobiles, up from £416.4m the prior yr.