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Sam Toy Managing director of Ford UK who saw off rivals and doubters to conquer a one-third share of the British car market

As its chairman and managing director from 1980 to 1986, Sam Toy led Ford UK to one of the most successful periods in its 100-year history.

Under his leadership the company's productivity of models such as the Escort increased sharply, and by the time he stood down Ford commanded one third of the British car market and remained largely profitable while the rival British Leyland was being kept afloat by government subsidy.

When Toy took the helm in 1980 the industry was deep in recession - reeling from the second oil crisis in less than a decade, industrial strife and increasing pressure from competitors in Japan and the rest of Europe - and Ford UK had called for 2,800 voluntary redundancies or early retirements and outlined radical plans for changes to its working practices.

Toy, a charismatic yet tough leader, worked hard at the Halewood factory near Liverpool, which produced the Escort, to raise productivity. In 1984 the factory was making 700 cars per day but by the time he left it was producing 1,100 even though the workforce had shrunk by 2,000.

Sam Toy was born in Mabe, Cornwall, in 1923, the son of a builder. From the council school in Ponsanooth he won a scholarship to Falmouth Grammar School, and then an RAF scholarship to Selwyn College, Cambridge, before attending pilot training in 1941. He won his wings in 1942. By the war's end he was a flying instructor for the Cambridge University Air Squadron.

He returned to study at Cambridge while working for the squadron, reading geography at Fitzwilliam College, and graduated in 1946. He joined Ford as a trainee in 1948. He worked his way through several export sales posts before becoming sales manager for car and truck exports in 1958.

In 1961 Toy moved to the US to work in the parent company. This gave him a valuable international perspective on the motor industry, and he developed a strong working relationship with the company president, Henry Ford II.

By 1969 he had been made director of sales, and he joined the board in 1974, having earned his reputation as a "super salesman" by achieving record sales during his 11-year stint as sales director.

When he was promoted to be the chairman and managing director of Ford UK in 1980 it was soon apparent that Toy's infectious enthusiasm and oratory - he could talk off the cuff for well over an hour - were well received by the key Ford dealers.

However, industry observers questioned whether he could match the elder statesman role played by his predecessor, Sir Terence Beckett, who had left Ford to become directorgeneral of the Confederation of British Industry. In contrast to Toy's sales background, Beckett had come from the design side of the business and had been instrumental in the design of the highly successful Cortina. Initial doubts about Toy's political nous proved to be unfounded as he articulated his views with considerable clarity and waded unhesitatingly into debates with the Government and industry bodies.

Toy was a vocal opponent of protecting the car industry against overseas competition, arguing instead that British manufacturers had to boost productivity to counter the competitive threat. Ford itself was importing a third of its cars from Europe. Soon after Toy took over, another Escort, the MkIII, was rolled out of its Halewood plant, and despite a slow start it also sold well. And on July 22, 1982, Toy proudly drove the last Cortina off the Dagenham production line. It was replaced by the Sierra; nicknamed "the jelly-mould" because of its adventurously rounded shape, it was also a slow-burner which eventually sold in large numbers. In his final year at Ford Toy attempted to broker a takeover deal to revive the ailing Rover. However, the Government backed out at the last minute, and the company eventually ended up in the hands of the Chinese group Nanjing Automotive. Toy later described his frustration at being unable to rescue his rival, claiming he had been within a hair's-breadth of concluding a deal which, as he put it, "would have strengthened the whole of the British motor industry". Ford UK outperformed its British rivals under Toy's leadership although it did not produce strong profit growth every year - and in 1984 even reported an operating loss owing to heavy price discounting. Ford UK was also the most profitable part of Ford worldwide group and in 1982 it was even obliged to lend its struggling parent nearly £1 billion.

After Toy stood down from Ford in 1986, his warnings about the need for greater efficiency in the industry proved to be prescient as car production moved increasingly offshore to countries where vehicles could be produced more cheaply.

In 2002 Ford stopped making cars in Britain, concentrating instead on research and development, building engines and producing its ever-popular Transit van. The US parent company sold the Jaguar and Land Rover brands to the Indian group Tata this year.

After leaving Ford Toy embarked on an active retirement. He spent his first retirement year as chairman of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. He was appointed an honorary life Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, and was instrumental in raising money for construction of the college's quadrangle and new theatre. He was a founder member of what is now called the Prince Michael International Safety Awards which started in 1987, and between 1991 and 1996 he served as chairman of the Scottish car dealership Norman Cordiner in Inverness. He was an honorary Fellow of the Institute of the Motor Industry and President of the Fellowship of the Motor Industry between 1988 and 1994, which raised money for the industry charity BEN.

He and his wife, Janetta, retired to Liss in Hampshire, and they also had a cottage on the shores of Loch Ness where Toy could pursue his passions for salmon and trout fishing and golf. From 1988 to 1996 he was chairman of UK 2000 Scotland, spearheading conservation programmes which included clearing pathways and creating bicycle routes round Scotland. For his environmental work Toy was appointed OBE in 1994.

Toy is survived by his third wife, Janetta, and by his four children. Sam Toy, OBE, chairman and managing director of Ford UK, 1980-86, was born on August 21, 1923. He died on March 24, 2008, aged 84