Opel sales expert will head LCV growth push

FRANKFURT -- Opel/Vauxhall has appointed Pascal Martens as the new head of its light commercial unit as it pursues ambitious growth goals for the business.

Belgian national Martens, who is currently Opel's director of sales, will assume the role on Nov. 1. He succeeds Tobias Stoever, who has been appointed head of Peugeot marketing in Germany.

PSA Group, which bought Opel from General Motors in 2017, currently dominates the LCV market in Europe with a 25 percent market share.

Under PSA, Opel is now aiming to increase its LCV sales by more than 25 percent by 2022 under its PACE turnaround plan.

Last year, PSA launched a new family of car-derived vans, the Peugeot Partner, Citroen Berlingo and Opel/Vauxhall Combo.

Martens held various senior management roles in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia and Germany, before taking his current position in 2016. He joined GM in Portugal in 1994 after completing his studies.

In his new role, Martens will report to Xavier Duchemin, Opel's head of sales, aftersales and marketing.