Volvo Car UK has promoted Matt Galvin to the position of sales director, with responsibility for all Volvo’s new and used car sales.

Galvin takes on the new role from his previous position as head of retail sales, and also becomes a member of the company’s executive management group.

He joined Volvo three years ago from Mercedes-Benz, initially as head of dealer operations. With his latest promotion, he will oversee all of Volvo’s new and used car sales channels, as the company embarks on its next growth phase. His promotion to sales director is with immediate effect.

He said: “We have a new and dynamic product range that’s provoking great critical acclaim and customer interest, helping us reach record-breaking sales levels.

“My job now is to take new and used car sales to the next level – a challenge that I am greatly looking forward to, working with our excellent retailer network.”

He continued: “Since the launch of the XC40 and V60, and with the new S60 arriving early next year, our focus to attract new customers to the Volvo brand has to intensify in order to underwrite our growth ambitions to 2020 and beyond.

“It’s also important to listen to our customers and ensure they receive the best possible service. For example, since partnering with TrackBack in February this year, we have been able to bring our response time to customer enquiries down to within one hour, 90% of the time.”

Jon Wakefield, managing director of Volvo Car UK, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Matt to his new role. He will bring his proven skills and insights to help us achieve the ambitious sales growth we are targeting, supported by a strong team here at Volvo Car UK and within our retail network.”

In the past three years, Volvo’s annual UK car sales have performed well beyond the national market, with new car sales growing by 16% and used sales by 36%.

In 2016, the annual new car sales total reached a 25-year high of 46,696 units, a 7% year-on-year rise, boosted by strong response to the V40 premium hatchback and the XC60 and XC90 SUV models.

The momentum was maintained last year, with 46,139 cars sold, delivering a 5% increase in the company’s UK market share. This keeps Volvo on course to meet its ambition of achieving 60,000 annual UK car sales by 2020.