VOLKSWAGEN Financial Services has appointed Iker Lazzari to the new role of head of sales and marketing in its drive to grow market share in the corporate and SME fleet market.
VW Financial Services has grown its business fleet by 19.8% in the last year and is one of the top 10 lenders to the fleet and business market.
Iker has over 18 years experience working within the Volkswagen Group. He has held a number of senior positions including market development manager, national contract hire & leasing manager for Volkswagen Passenger Cars and most recently operational strategy manager for Group Fleet Services, where he was responsible for delivering key strategic projects at Group level.
He was also instrumental in the re-organisation of Volkswagen Group’s fleet services division, where he consolidated operational activities and helped it grow within the corporate sector.
Recently the UK operation reached a £10 billion lending portfolio, giving it a 19% share of the automotive finance and insurance market in Britain. It also finances six out of ten new car sales to private consumers.
Ian Tilbrook, fleet director at Volkswagen Financial Services, said: “Iker has an exceptional background. Not only does he come with knowledge of the business and its customers, but also of the industry. He will be a valuable asset to the team, contributing to both the strategic and innovatory development of the business.”
One of Iker’s biggest tasks is to ensure that the fleet market appreciates all of Volkswagen Group Financial Services offerings, in particular its capability to provide fleet vehicles from all manufacturers, in addition to leveraging close relationships with Volkswagen Group brands.
He will also be building awareness of the company’s non-asset based products and services, including telematics and fleet management solutions, fuel cards and employee focused schemes, such as salary sacrifice for cars.
Furthermore, Iker will be focusing on digitising the customer experience of all of Volkswagen Financial Services offerings, so that customers can procure and manage fleets and monitor drivers on efficient online platforms.
“The business already has all the fundamental elements and offerings needed for it to become the major player in the fleet market,” says Iker.
“What we now need to do is make sure both our existing customers and prospects realise the real breadth and depth of our portfolio and the benefits they can get from procuring fleet solutions from one source.”
He adds: “As part of my role I will also be pushing for continuous product development and new product offerings so that we also become the leader in innovation, compliance and choice. We’ve grown strongly in recent years and have exciting plans to build on that growth by further developing the team and our proposition.”
Recently the UK operation reached a £10 billion lending portfolio, giving it a 19% share of the automotive finance and insurance market in Britain. It also finances six out of ten new car sales to private consumers.
