General Motors has named its current U.S. sales chief for Chevrolet, Alan Batey, as the brand’s new global chief. Batey’s newly created post will see him head the brand that’s responsible for more than half of the sales of General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] worldwide.
At the same time, Batey will also serve as the head of sales, service and marketing for the Chevrolet, Buick and GMC brands in the U.S.
In his role as global chief of Chevrolet, Batey will report to GM CEO Dan Akerson. In his more localized role, he will report to GM’s North American president Mark Reuss.
Batey, originally from the U.K., is the second GM exec assigned as the global head of one of the automaker’s brands. The first was Bob Ferguson, who was assigned as the head of Cadillac.
Batey began his career with GM in 1979 as a mechanical engineering apprentice for Vauxhall in the U.K. He has held senior management positions around the globe and joined GM’s U.S. team in 2010 after heading Holden in Australia.
The Chevy brand sold more than 1.18 million vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2013, achieving its 10th consecutive quarter of record sales. The brand plans to launch 25 new vehicles around the world before the end of the year, including the highly-anticipated 2014 Corvette Stingray, and is hoping to top its 4.9 million sales made in 2012.
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