THE man handed the baton of taking Vauxhall to the top of the sales charts by 2016 is Tim Tozer.

Tim Tozer takes over as chairman and managing director of Vauxhall Motors and ceo Opel Ireland from former Vauxhall top man Duncan Aldred, who made the claim last year that Vauxhall would be number one by 2016.

Aldred has left his Luton post to go Stateside for parent GM company as US vice president, Buick-GMC Sales, Service and Marketing based in Detroit.

Tim Tozer certainly joins Vauxhall with a wealth of experience, including president and ceo of Mitsubishi Motors Europe, managing director of Mazda in the UK and a regional director of Inchcape Motors International. Most recently Tim was CEO of car importer and distribution company Autobinck Holding NV in The Hague.

As well as Tim’s UK duties, he will also represent Vauxhall on the Opel/Vauxhall Leadership Board in Germany.

Karl-Thomas Neumann, executive vice president Opel/Vauxhall and president of General Motors Europe, said: