Seat UK, the UK operation of the Spanish car brand, part of Volkswagen Group, has appointed Neil Williamson as director.

Williamson joins from Mercedes-Benz Retail Group, holding previous experience in the UK and abroad with Nissan, and replaces Peter Wyhinny, who leaves after six years to become director of Seat Italy.

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Under Wyhinny, Seat posted "a period of record sales and market share", according to a company statement.

According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, new car registrations for the brand were up 6.58% to 2,705 units for November, with a market share increase of 0.08 ppts to 1.89%. Year-to-November, Seat UK new car registrations were up 7.13% to 35,999 units, which topped its 2007 high of 34,790 new registrations in 2007 and is on course to break 2011’s total of 36,089, although market share dropped by 0.03 ppts to 1.84%.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) has stated its intent to grow finance penetration for several of its subsidiary brands, including Seat, from 30% to 40% within four years across European markets.

Graham Wheeler, managing director of VWFS in the UK, spoke at the recent Finance & Leasing Association Motor Finance Convention of the need to integrate the sales process with finance to maximise profits, which may mean a rearrangement of how dealerships operate.

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Capitalising on its recovery in the UK since dropping sales after 2007, Seat opened seven franchised forecourts around the turn of 2011-2012.

richard.brown@timetric.com