Volkswagen UK has appointed Simon Lynch to the position of Head of Fleet Sales, effective 8 December 2025. This appointment finalises a recent restructuring of the UK team, which also includes Kevin Rendell assuming responsibility for Network Sales and Owen Shepherd moving to become Head of Product and Planning.

Lynch joins from his current role as Head of Aftersales Retailer Operations at Volkswagen Group UK. Since first joining Volkswagen Group UK in 2006, he has built a comprehensive background, holding various positions in finance, network risk, product marketing and sales, including a prior role as Head of Aftersales for Škoda.

Rod McLeod, Director, Volkswagen UK, said, “I am pleased to welcome Simon to the Volkswagen UK team and to complete my leadership team reshuffle. The next few years will be especially exciting for Volkswagen, with the launches of the ID. Polo and new T-Roc, and fleet customers are more important than ever to our brand evolution. I’m looking forward to leading the new team into 2026 and beyond.”

Lynch said, “I’m looking forward to returning to the Volkswagen brand and heading up the Fleet Sales team. Both the brand and the fleet market are in an exciting phase of change, with electrification, digitalisation and the way people buy and use cars all evolving at pace. Volkswagen has a fantastic team and I’m delighted to be playing my part in developing the UK’s best-selling brand.”

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Volkswagen Group UK has announced the appointment of Catherine Baker to its Board of Management as the new Director of One Aftersales. She will be taking over from Sylvain Charbonnier, who is leaving the UK after a four-year tenure to assume a new position within the global Volkswagen Group.

Bringing three decades of automotive industry expertise to the role, Baker has a strong commercial and strategic background. She originally joined the UK division in 2018 and has since occupied several senior positions, including her most recent role as Head of Group Parts Operations. Her career prior to Volkswagen included experience at Mercedes-Benz. Baker is also recognised as an influential advocate for diversity and inclusion within the company.

In her new capacity, she will lead the One Aftersales division, which manages all post-sale activities for the Group's five brands: SEAT, CUPRA, Škoda, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. The department’s responsibilities extend beyond daily service operations to encompass business development, the parts supply chain and technical support functions.

Damien O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group UK, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Catherine to the Board and look forward to working with her in developing the next generation of aftersales propositions. I’d like to thank Sylvain for his considerable contribution and wish him well for his future in the Volkswagen Group.”

Baker said, “I’m excited to be joining the board of management at such a pivotal time. The move to electrification and digitalisation as well as evolving consumer expectations are changing the way we do business and look after our customers. I’m looking forward to taking over from Sylvain and leading the One Aftersales team into the next decade.”

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MINI India, part of the German luxury brand BMW Group, has announced that it will open the pre-launch bookings for the all-new MINI John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4 on 22 September 2025.

The MINI John Cooper Works models are known for their exhilarating performance. The Countryman ALL4 will come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine. Thanks to its all-wheel drive system, the new MINI JCW Countryman ALL4 is also very capable off the road and will be launched in India on 14 October 2025.

At present, the company has set up 11 authorised MINI dealerships in India, including Bird Automotive (Delhi & Gurugram), Bavaria Motors (Pune), EVM Autokraft (Kochi), Gallops Autohaus (Ahmedabad), Infinity Cars (Mumbai), Krishna Automobiles (Chandigarh), KUN Exclusive (Chennai), KUN Exclusive (Hyderabad), KUN Exclusive (Bengaluru) and OSL Prestige (Kolkata).

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South Korean auto major Hyundai Motor Company is pursuing an ambitious and meticulously planned global expansion strategy, with the ultimate goal of achieving a 2030 sales target of 5.55 million units.

Jose Munoz, CEO, Hyundai Motor Company, speaking at the company’s 2025 Investors Day event shared that this isn't just ‘wishful thinking’ but is ‘based on approved product launches, plan capacity expansions and market entry strategies already in motion’. The company's strength lies in its ‘balanced and diversified global portfolio’, with strong operations across Korea, Europe India and other emerging markets.

Munoz, emphasised that while North America remains the largest and most strategically important market, ‘each market is contributing meaningfully to our performance’.

A cornerstone of this strategy is the significant investment and focus on India. Hyundai is not just looking to increase sales, but to solidify its manufacturing and market leadership in the region. Munoz revealed that Hyundai is accelerating its global production capacity, with plans to add up to 1.2 million additional units worldwide by 2030. A key part of this is the new plant in Pune, India, which ‘will open later this year and grow to produce 250,000 units,’ bringing Hyundai's total production capacity in India to over 1 million units.

The Pune facility is a strategic move, designed to serve ‘as a strategic hub for both domestic demand and exports to emerging markets’. The plant will also be a ‘smart factory’ with flexible multi-model production, showcasing Hyundai's advanced vision for manufacturing.

The auto major also highlighted the profitability of its Indian operations. “While most OEMs struggle because it's extremely competitive market, Hyundai is one of the most profitable companies in India much better profitability than the leaders and we remain the number 2 player," said Munoz.

In addition to manufacturing, Hyundai is tailoring its product offerings for the Indian market. The company is proud to launch ‘the country's first EV designed specifically for Indian drivers with a localised supply chain’. This exemplifies Hyundai's commitment to localised operations and delivering what each market truly wants.

He noted that in 12 key markets, including India, Hyundai ranks among the top three automotive brands.

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Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Corporation has announced a major leadership change for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, & Oceania) region as part of its Re:Nissan recovery plan.

Effective 1^st October, Massimiliano (Max) Messina will take over as Chairperson of the region. He currently holds the position of Vice Chairperson and Senior Vice-President of Finance, Administration, and Strategy for the same region. His predecessor, Guillaume Cartier, will now concentrate on his global duties as Nissan's Chief Performance Officer.

His appointment is expected to provide continuity and align the region's operations with Nissan's global objectives. With over two decades of experience in the automotive industry, Messina will now oversee operations in 140 countries, 5 plants and a workforce of 13,000 employees.

"I'm honoured to take on this responsibility at such a critical moment for Nissan," said Messina.

The leadership change comes as Nissan prepares to launch four new electric vehicles in Europe and follows successful recent launches of models like the Patrol and Magnite in other markets. Victorino (Vito) Esnaola, will succeed Messina as Senior Vice President of Finance and IT for the AMIEO region. Esnaola joined Nissan in 2015 and has held several key financial roles within the company.

The Re:Nissan plan aims to return the company to profitability and achieve positive free cash flow by fiscal year 2026. Cartier stated that Messina's leadership will be crucial in ‘accelerating transformation’ and ensuring the region's performance contributes to this ambitious goal.

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