Michael Cole: new UK MD at Kia.

Kia Toyota GB sales director Michael Cole steps up to become UK managing director at Kia Motors in August while Paul Philpott moves to Europe, the Korean manufacturer has announced.

Toyota GB sales director Michael Cole is to head up the growing UK subsidiary of Korean manufacturer Kia in early August, following in the footsteps of the highly successful Paul Philpott, 42, who has been promoted to chief operating officer (COO) at Kia Motors Europe.

Cole, 45, lives in Horsham, West Sussex, with his wife and two children. The West Ham supporter gained significant experience during his 15 years with Toyota and, prior to that, at various Ford dealers.

Accounting qualification

After completing a Diploma in Accounting at Brookes University, Oxford, Cole joined the motor industry, spending ten years within the Ford dealer network. He qualified as a professional accountant with the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and subsequently joined Toyota in 1995.

He has held a number of field-based roles in business management and area sales (North-East and Yorkshire) before taking on office roles within Toyota financial services and fleet sales. He then moved to a marketing role in 2001 as manager of sales and market planning before becoming southern region general manager in 2002 and general manager, after sales in 2003.

Growth

Cole tells ModernSelling.com: ‘I am very excited by this opportunity – the Kia brand is poised to grow dramatically over the coming years with a strong ambition to achieve in excess of 50,000 sales in the UK. The product line-up is already expanding, but their high-quality, design-led new models will really offer something different. Korean ambition knows no boundaries and I'm hoping to emulate that through what we do at Kia Motors in the UK.

‘Under Paul Philpott, Kia in the UK has flourished and I will be working hard to take that to the next stage. I am looking forward to working with the team at Kia and its dealer network to achieve strong sales growth with profit over the coming years. Central to my determination is that, in the UK, customers will recognise Kia as a desirable volume car brand which delivers high quality, good value and the service they deserve.’

Vision

Philpott says of Cole’s appointment: ‘Michael has clearly demonstrated that he has the enthusiasm, the experience, the capabilities and the vision to continue the growth of Kia in the UK, and to further develop the service provided to the dealer network. Like me, he firmly believes that at the heart of any franchise has to be a strong partnership between the manufacturer and the dealer network. With Michael as my successor, I am confident that our UK operation is in very good hands and the progress made in recent years will continue to accelerate.’

European challenge

Speaking about his own new role, Philpott declares: ‘This is a great opportunity for me and a major challenge as Europe is very diverse with many different markets with their own traditions and market conditions. I believe Kia has the potential to be one of Europe's leading retail brands. Our high-quality, good-value products are just what motorists want today and in the future as the continent emerges from economic recession.

Paul Philpott: UK market share up.

Philpott, who is married with two children, moves to the company’s regional headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany this August after a successful turn-round of Kia’s UK operation to lead a new focus on growth across Europe. His appointment as COO follows a major re-organisation of the Korean company's European head office under president Sun-Young Kim.

He will be responsible for all of Kia's pan-European operations including sales, marketing, and aftersales and will manage relations with the company's manufacturing operations in Zilina, Slovakia where cee'd and Sportage are built.

Re-built UK operation

Philpott re-built the UK operation on a retail and dealer-focused strategy following his arrival in February 2007. During that time, the UK subsidiary's performance has seen a dramatic improvement with retail market share up from 1.4% in 2006 to 2.3% in 2009 and Kia advancing to the 7th most valuable franchise to hold in the latest NFDA Dealer Attitude survey.

When he announced the appointment president Kim said: ‘In the UK, Paul has clearly shown how to effectively turn around a business that was on the wrong track and his ability to motivate a dealer network to deliver an outstanding experience for Kia customers. He has achieved tremendous things in the UK – not least helping Kia to become Carmaker of the Year at this year's AM Awards.’

Product plans

Philpott adds: ‘Our product plan for the next few years is unrivalled in the industry – within three years our oldest product will be the recently launched Soul urban crossover! We will be entering new segments, revitalising existing models and bringing a third product to our Slovakia plant. This gives us an unrivalled opportunity to build our reputation as a leading mainstream brand in the minds of European dealers and consumers.’

From finance to sales

Philpott graduated in Finance at Loughborough University, and spent 12 months in the financial sector before joining Ford Motor Company in 1988. After nine years in Ford's UK sales and marketing division, he moved to Toyota as general manager, marketing.

He was appointed marketing director in 1999 and, in 2003, became commercial director with responsibility for all of Toyota's commercial operations in the UK – sales, marketing, aftersales and logistics. He was awarded the first automotive industry ‘Rising Stars’ award in 2005.

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