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GM Appoints New Global Chevrolet Chief

General Motors Co. has promoted veteran executive Alan Batey to the new position of global head of the Chevrolet brand, which accounts for more than half of the company's worldwide sales.Batey also will keep much of his current position, staying on as head of U.S. sales, service and marketing for Chevy, Buick and GMC.

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. has promoted veteran executive Alan Batey to the new position of global head of the Chevrolet brand, which accounts for more than half of the company's worldwide sales.

Batey also will keep much of his current position, staying on as head of U.S. sales, service and marketing for Chevy, Buick and GMC. He had been head of U.S. sales and interim chief marketing officer.

The move is part of CEO Dan Akerson's effort to restructure the company so executives have global responsibility for each brand.

Batey will report to Akerson is his global role with Chevrolet, and he'll report to North American President Mark Reuss for his U.S. sales job.

GM says it sold more than 1.18 million Chevrolets around the world in the first quarter for its 10th straight quarter of record sales. In the U.S., Chevrolet's largest market, sales were up 5.1 percent through May to almost 822,000. But the gain lagged the whole U.S. auto market, which saw sales increase 7.3 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

Batey started with GM in 1979 as a mechanical engineering apprentice with the Vauxhall brand in England. The company says he has been a senior manager in Europe, the Middle East, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Before coming to Chevy in the U.S. in 2010, Batey was chairman and managing director of GM's operations in Australia and New Zealand.

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