Smart charging specialist Ohme has appointed former Nissan fleet director Peter McDonald as director for mobility.

McDonald has an extensive background in fleet and the wider automotive sector He spent some two years as fleet director at Nissan, helping to further advance its leading electric vehicle proposition with businesses and was deeply involved in all the brand’s activities to commercialise electric cars and LCVs to fleets.

Prior to this he spent in excess of 17 years at Volkswagen Group in the UK, China and Germany, including six years as head of fleet and business sales for SEAT UK.

During his time at the helm, SEAT won the Fleet World Most improved manufacturer in 2018, and Fleet World Best Fleet Manufacturer in 2019.

Commenting on his new role, McDonald said: “I really enjoyed my time at Nissan, and, before that Volkswagen Group, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to join Ohme, a scale-up in the Energy Technology field.

“As energy and mobility merge, I believe new innovative customer solutions will come to the fore to support both private and fleet customers in smart charging. Ohme is in a great position to lead in this field.”

Founded in 2019 by scientist and ethical investor David Watson, Ohme has expertise in home and workplace charging, offering both hardware and software solutions focused on making charging simpler, better for the consumer and with in-built flexibility.

Watson stated: “I’m excited that Peter has come on board. Ohme has grown significantly in recent years as we’ve grown our relationships with UK automotive firms and fleets. The addition of Peter gives us even greater credibility and experience to capitalise on the growing market opportunities.

“I look forward to working with Peter and together growing the Ohme brand proposition.”

Nissan has also said it has no update on a replacement for Peter McDonald yet. In the interim, his responsibilities will be assumed by Andrea Patti, national corporate fleet section manager, and Nic Verneuil, sales director. A new fleet director for Nissan GB will be announced shortly.