Paul Philpott has been appointed as chief operating officer at Kia Motors Europe following a major re-organisation of the company's European head office.

Philpott, who was managing director of Kia Motors (UK), will take up his position in Frankfurt, Germany, in August.

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 the cee'd and Sportage are built.

“I believe Kia has the potential to be one of Europe's leading retail brands” explained Philpott. “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.”

Prior to joining Kia, Philpott was appointed marketing director in 1999 for Toyota's UK operations and in 2003 became Toyota's commercial director with responsibility for all of its commercial operations in the UK - sales, marketing, aftersales and logistics.

He was awarded the first automotive industry "Rising Stars" award in 2005.