Ford of Britain's wholly owned dealer group, Ford Retail, has announced the appointment of Stuart Kerr as CEO, following the departure of Chris Hayden.

Stuart Kerr was previously regional president for Volvo Car Corporation in Europe. He has extensive experience in vehicle retailing, including the successful launch of Volvo distributorship and dealership operations in South Africa.

Ford of Europe vice president marketing sales and service Roelant de Waard said: "Stuart is the right person to take on this important industry role and to build on the work done by Chris Hayden in profitably developing Ford Retail into a customer-focused business worthy of our best-ever range of products."

With 60 sites spanning Britain, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland, Ford Retail is one of the largest dealer groups in the UK and the largest Ford dealer group in the world.