DEALERS AND NEW CARS KEY TO VAUXHALL ENDING SLUMP

Boss targets top-three sales spot as brand prepares fresh model rollout

- CHARLIE MARTIN

The new managing director of Vauxhall wants to return the British brand to its historic position as one of the UK’s bestselling car manufacturers, following a slump since the Covid pandemic.

Steve Catlin, who took the helm in June, told Autocar: “My intention is to put Vauxhall back on the podium. That’s not an immediate aspiration that we’re going to deliver next year, but over the next few years I want to get Vauxhall back onto the podium.”

Catlin faces a significant task: according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the three bestselling brands in the UK up to the end of September were Volkswagen, BMW and Kia. Third-placed Kia has sold 93,000 cars this year, compared with Vauxhall’s 66,000. It’s also being outsold by Stellantis sibling brand Peugeot (70,600).