Vauxhall tempts new sales and operations director away from Nio

Steve Beattie has returned to Vauxhall after six years with other carmakers to take the role of sales and operations director.

Beattie was Vauxhall's national contract hire and leasing manager when he left the British brand after 12 years to join Volvo Car UK's senior team in 2017, and then in 2022 he took on the role of head of European fleet and sales operations at Chinese brand Nio, which imports electric cars into Germany, Norway, Sweden and Netherlands.

Nio is yet to begin sales in the UK, although it has begin preparations.

The Volvo and Nio roles have broadened his experience considerably from his career's earlier focus on fleet and business sales, as he gained responsibility for overseeing all sales delivered by Volvo's retail network, including parts and service hours, and at Nio he was part of a team establishing operations for sales and charging in launch markets.

His return to Vauxhall this year coincides with the brand's ambition to have an electric variant in every model line by the end of this year.

Vauxhall is part of Stellantis UK, which has a cross-brand approach to most of the areas of its fleet business across leasing, rental, major fleets and special vehicle operations. Smaller fleets and SMEs still interact with Vauxhall at brand level.

Stellantis plans to have more than 75 battery electric vehicle (BEVs) models available, globally, by the end of the decade.

Its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan is targeting 100% of sales in Europe and 50% of sales in the United States to be BEVs by the end of the decade, equating to annual sales of five million by 2030.

Four platforms form the backbone of the EVs from all Stellantis brands. The platforms are said to provide a high level of flexibility, both in length and width, and component sharing.

Alongside the small, medium and large car platforms will be one dedicated for commercial vehicles, such as vans and pick-ups. The platforms can be paired with a family of three electric motors, offering varied configurations including front- rear- and all-wheel drive, plus plug-in hybrid.