Scania (Great Britain) has ended its hunt to replace MD Martin Hay, who announced his early retirement in February this year.
James Armstrong, who is currently MD of Scania’s central European region, will take over from Hay on 1 July this year.
Armstrong who is currently based in Prague, oversees Scania’s operations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. His previous post was as MD for Scania in South East Asia, where he was based in Kuala Lumpar. Prior to this he was services director for Scania (Great Britain).
Armstrong said: “I am pleased to be coming back to the UK to take up the role of managing director. The UK business is one of the largest Scania operations and is very successful and I intend to continue to lead this operation to further success, working closely to support our customers, our colleagues and our independent network.
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“I spent several years in the UK as services director, so I look forward to connecting with former colleagues and observing how the business has continued to transform. Scania (Great Britain) has an important agenda ahead with a key focus on sustainability, investing in electrification and driving the shift towards offering more sustainable transport solutions."
Armstrong arrives at Scania (Great Britain) as OEMs struggle with the challenges of the pandemic and the ongoing shift away from diesel powered vehicles to more sustainable alternatives.
Last month Scania revealed that it had seen net sales fall across the board by 18% last year, in what it described as 'a year like no other'.
Operating income decreased by 49% to SEK 8,887m (£750m) and truck sales fell by 8.5% to SEK 89,934m.
Its results also showed that in the fourth quarter, net sales decreased by 6% to SEK 36,282m and operating income increased by 1% to SEK 3,638m.