Volkswagen names Skoda UK executive to head U.S. sales

Volkswagen has named a UK-based executive of Czech subsidiary Skoda to replace its former head of U.S. sales whose departure was revealed at the weekend as the German automaker’s deliveries have plunged in world’s second-largest vehicle market.

Duncan Movassaghi will begin the job on February 1, the automaker stated. He has been acting as managing director of Skoda UK with full duty for the brand in the UK.

Movassaghi replaces Ron Stach, whose departure automaker verified on Saturday. It refused to provide a reason for the move.

VW stated last Wednesday that its U.S. sales increased 5.2 percent to 339,676 brand models in 2017 however plunged 19 percent in December after publishing their first monthly decline in 2017 in November.

Volkswagen is eager to end losses in the United States by the end of the decade, relying on a series of higher-margin new models and structural modifications as it struggles to draw the line under its diesel emissions test cheating scandal which broke in the United States in last year.

Prior to joining the automaker in 2010, Movassaghi operated in the pharmaceutical retail and banking sectors, the automaker stated.