Cox Automotive has announced that its customer insight director James Davis passed away at the weekend.

A well-known and respected voice within the automotive industry, Davis had a passion for commercial vehicles.

He started his career with Central Motor Auctions in the early 1990s, before moving to National Car Auctions in 1994 as commercial vehicle administrator. He was appointed asset manager at Lex Transfleet in 1999, based in Coventry, responsible for remarketing of owned and fleet managed assets.

After a short spell out of the industry with Royal Bank of Scotland, Davis returned to Manheim Auctions in 2004 as regional commercial vehicle manager for the South before being promoted to director of commercial vehicles in 2010 with responsibility for Manheim UK's CV strategy.

He was appointed customer insight director for CV for Manheim parent Cox Automotive in 2018.

Outside his working life, Davis was also well-known for his enthusiasm for all things automotive, in particular his beloved 1959 MGA sportscar, which he used to raise significant sums for the Alzheimer’s Society.

He will be greatly missed by family, friends, team members and customers.

Tributes pour in for James Davis - read here on LinkedIn