Mitsubishi promotes sales boss Krol to lead Europe operations

Mitsubishi Motors Europe has promoted its sales director Frank Krol to lead the automaker in the region where it is reducing its footprint.

Krol, 46, will take over the role on July 1 from Eric Wepierre, who will leave the company.

Wepierre was hired from Opel in January 2020 before the company announced in July last year that it would exit its European operations as part of a plan to cut losses.

Mitsubishi has since reversed that decision after Renault agreed to build two new models for its alliance partner starting in 2023.

However, Mitsubishi's operations will still be much smaller as it prepares to exit large markets such as the UK.

"The unexpected events of 2020 brought a challenge that could not have been imagined just months before," Wepierre said in a statement. "I feel extremely proud of what the whole MME team accomplished in this unique environment."

Krol, a Dutch national, has worked for Mitsubishi in Europe for more than 20 years and was promoted to his current role of sales director in 2018. Prior to that he was head of Mitsubishi in the Netherlands.

Krol was upbeat about Mitsubishi's revised plans.

"We have solid foundations upon which to build a strong future for Mitsubishi Motors in Europe, from the just-launched Eclipse Cross PHEV to the introduction of new models developed by Renault on alliance platforms," he said.