Carlsbad’s own little green automobile company Aptera has announced that they have hired former “Director of Marketing at Audi of America” Tony Kirton as its Chief Marketing Officer.
Having spent the last three decades successfully implementing and executing marketing and sales strategies for the world’s leading car manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen, we are very fortunate to bring someone of Tony’s caliber to the team,” said Steve Fambro, co-founder and CEO of Aptera. “His wide-ranging experience coupled with established relationships in key automotive channels will prove invaluable as we prepare to roll our first vehicle off the assembly line this year.”
Welcome to Carlsbadistan, Tony.
CARLSBAD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aptera Motors announced today that the ultra-green auto company has hired Tony Kirton as its Chief Marketing Officer. Kirton, an automotive industry veteran with over 35 years of business development, marketing, sales, and service experience will be responsible for expanding Aptera’s brand and global presence as the company heads into production this year.
“Having spent the last three decades successfully implementing and executing marketing and sales strategies for the world’s leading car manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen, we are very fortunate to bring someone of Tony’s caliber to the team,” said Steve Fambro, co-founder and CEO of Aptera. “His wide-ranging experience coupled with established relationships in key automotive channels will prove invaluable as we prepare to roll our first vehicle off the assembly line this year.”
Prior to joining Aptera, Kirton was an independent marketing and company brand consultant serving multiple industries including automotive, industrial, professional services and consumer products representing nationally recognized brands. Much of his recent work has focused on understanding the major cultural shifts in America and interpreting their implications for developers of tomorrow’s large-scale communities. In this capacity he led executive level teams through the process of cultivating the company story, articulating core values internally and to the customer, and discovering the essence of the brand they hope to build.
Other notable positions include five years as Director of Marketing at Audi of America; Vice President of Sales for Volkswagen & Audi in Great Britain; and Chief Marketing Officer on the executive board of BMW’s South African marketing and manufacturing subsidiary. In that role, Tony was responsible for all sales, marketing, and service activities. He initiated and led a major turn around of the customer service experience, resulting in the company taking the number one position in measured satisfaction among all manufacturers competing in that market.
“For me, it’s a remarkable opportunity to join Aptera at such a pivotal time in the company’s history,” stated Kirton. “When I first met Steve Fambro over three years ago, Aptera was more dream than reality. Now we are just months away from introducing the first Aptera design to the California market. Little did we know that an exponential rise in gas prices would make this radical new form of energy efficient personal transportation more relevant and more urgently needed than ever. I feel that we are following in the great tradition of California garage start-ups that rock the ways things are done. Aptera is a game changer in an automotive world desperately in need of one. I can’t imagine any place I’d rather be.”
About Aptera
Aptera makes the most efficient passenger vehicles in the world. Their first production model, the Typ-1, will be available in December 2008 at a cost of about 30K. The all-electric version gets 120 miles per charge, while the hybrid version gets 300 MPG. With these results, Aptera aims to change the way the world thinks about transportation. And with its commitment to efficiency and safety, the company is poised to lead a new era of vehicle design. California residents can reserve a vehicle now by placing a fully refundable $500 deposit at http://www.aptera.com.
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