Former Ford of Britain chairman Graham Hoare has been appointed president of global operations by lithium-ion battery cell technology investor Britishvolt.

The company is due to start construction of a £2.6 million battery gigaplant, which will be able to produce 300,000 batteries a year, in Northumberland in the second half of the year.

He is currently chair of the influential UK Automotive Council and in his newly-created role he will be responsible for leading the global functional operations of the business and to seek out future expansion opportunities.

Hoare said: “Britishvolt’s mission to place itself at the forefront of battery technology is of great importance as we move, collectively, towards net-zero targets.

“It’s crucial that Britishvolt continues its impressive trajectory and delivers world-class products. Batteries will be at the very centre of the energy transition.”

Prior to his new role, Hoare was chairman of Ford of Britain and also executive director for business transformation.

In these positions he was responsible for restructuring Ford’s operations in the UK. He previously held a number of senior engineering positions at Ford in North America and the UK, and also with Land Rover and the BMW Group in Germany.