His appointment follows the departure of Nick Connor to become chief executive of Volvo’s Polestar performance car division.

Jon Wakefield has worked for Volvo in the UK for nearly four years as sales director, joining the brand in 2012 from Fiat Group where he had worked as sales director across the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands.

Last year saw Volvo Car UK report its most successful sales year for over 20 years, contributing to a strong global performance with the brand registering more than half a million cars globally for the first time in its history.

The brand added that 2016 is expected to bring further sales growth helped by the arrival of the new V90 and S90 later this year.