Jaguar Land Rover China appoints new sales chief

Joining Jaguar Land Rover in 2011, Frank Wittemann has about 25 years of experience in the automotive industry. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Frank Wittemann will take the helm of Jaguar Land Rover sales in China next month when the current sales chief Mark Bishop retires.

Bishop became president of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Integrated Marketing Sales and Service in June 2015, with James Hu his deputy.

The two led British premium automaker's sales unit through hard times in 2015 and pushed sales to about 120,000 in 2016, a 31 percent growth compared to the previous year. The performance ranked JLR fourth in the market after the three well-established German giants: Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

JLR China President Pan Qing spoke highly of Bishop's work, expressing thanks for his driving significant sales growth.

Wittemann said he anticipates a strong 2017.

"Mark has laid strong foundations for our future progress in China and we now have the capacity to further grow our business," he said.

Joining JLR in 2011, Wittemann has about 25 years of experience in the automotive industry. His most recent role was managing director of JLR Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chen Anning, chairman of Chery Jaguar Land Rover, said Wittemann's rich experience will help the two brands' marketing, sales and after-sales business and offer a better product and service experience to Chinese customers.

The CJLR is currently localizing three models in China: Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport and Jaguar XFL.