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Wright move: Nigel Wright added responsibility for Peugeot national sales to his role as corporate sales manager at the start of this year, after Trevor Palmer left the company.

Wright move: Nigel Wright added responsibility for Peugeot national sales to his role as corporate sales manager at the start of this year, after Trevor Palmer left the company.

SIME Darby Motors Group has appointed Nigel Wright as national sales manager for Peugeot Automobiles Australia, making his placement permanent after taking on the role in an ‘acting’ capacity in January.

Management of national sales was previously the responsibility of Trevor Palmer, who left the company at the end of last year.

Mr Wright has worked for Peugeot Australia since 2013, starting as a regional sales manager but soon moving up to the newly created position of national corporate sales manager.

In the latter, which is now incorporated into his national sales role, Mr Wright was instrumental in establishing a corporate program for Peugeot in 2014 and securing Woolworths, Nutrimetics and Right2Drive as founding fleet partners.

Mr Wright has some 15 years’ experience in the automotive industry, both here and in the United Kingdom. He has also worked for Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited, Volkswagen Group Australia and, in the UK, Alfa Romeo and Mazda.

The general manager of Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands in Australia, Kai Bruesewitz, said in a statement that the appointment “provides a seamless transition ahead of increased model activity”.

This will include the launch next year of the new-generation 3008 mid-size SUV, an upgraded 2008 crossover and a mid-life overhaul for the 308 small car.

There are no light-commercial vehicles on the horizon, despite the company working through a business case for the Peugeot Expert mid-size van, with Citroen deemed the most appropriate brand to handle workhorse vehicles while the European lion brand will focus solely on passenger cars.

“We are pleased to appoint Nigel to the position of national sales manager,” Mr Bruesewitz said. “His experience, both locally and abroad, will see him hit the ground running ahead of some significant model activity in 2017.”

The company has advised that, until then, Mr Wright’s focus for the rest of this year will be on the back end of the business, the retail network, working on minor revisions for existing models and laying the groundwork for the bigger launches next year.

As GoAuto has reported, Peugeot last week announced a number of incentives across several models in a bid to boost sales, which are down 18 per cent with 1989 new registrations in the first half of 2017, against a 3.4 per cent increase across the entire industry.

Only the 2008 is in positive territory, up 19.1 per cent, while the brand’s biggest-selling model, the 308, is down 10.8 per cent.

By Terry Martin

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