Toyota Appoints New General Manager for Toyota and Lexus Fleet

PORTSMOUTH,UNITED KINGDOM – August, 10 2009: Mark Roden has been appointed General Manager for Toyota and Lexus Fleet and Vehicle Remarketing, taking over from Richard Balshaw after his promotion to Sales Director.

Roden, 45 is currently General Manager, Marketing & Strategy for Lexus, a position he has held since August 2006. Prior to that he was Toyota Network General Manager. Roden joined the company in 1996 and worked in various field based roles before the above appointments.

Roden said: “Current market conditions are tough for fleet sales however Toyota Optimal Drive, Hybrid Synergy Drive and Lexus Hybrid Drive present a very strong proposition to fleet managers in terms of whole life costs. With a refreshed line up in 2009, plus new generation Prius on sale from this month, the team has already been hard at work introducing the benefits of hybrid technology to fleet managers across the country.”

Roden joins the team after a restructure earlier this year to combine Lexus Corporate simplifying the process for sales of both brands to fleet managers. Roden takes up the role from 1 September and will report to Richard Balshaw.