Steve Beattie has been appointed head of business sales of Volvo Car UK with immediate effect.

He will be responsible for overseeing all of Volvo's fleet and corporate sales in the UK, with particular emphasis on continuing Volvo's recent growth.

Beattie joins the Swedish manufacturer following a 12-year stint at Vauxhall where he was most recently national contract hire and leasing manager.

He has previously held numerous managerial roles in fleet sales and developed a proven track record of growing sales volumes.

"I'm delighted to be joining Volvo and heading up the Business Sales division, especially at such an exciting time for the company. With a fantastic range of desirable, technologically advanced and stunning new cars, and more exciting models on the horizon, Volvo is a brand that is genuinely transforming itself," Beattie said.

Volvo has experienced its best full-year sales result for 25 years and with the recent introduction of the all-new XC60, the forthcoming launch of the XC40 small SUV, and the continued popularity of the V40 premium hatchback, Volvo says it is well on track to hit its annual UK sales target of 60,000 cars by 2020.