Former trade minister of Britain Lord Digby Jones has been appointed as a "corporate ambassador" for Tata's Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Lord Jones said he is expected to attend a number of events at JLR dealerships throughout the year.
He insisted that his role would not involve lobbying ministers on behalf of the company, which has been in talks with the government for several months about financial assistance.
"Digby is a great ambassador for the car industry, for the West Midlands and for British business. We have similar arrangements with a number of sports people and figures from the world of show business," a JLR spokesman said.
Representatives of the car industry will meet Lord Peter Mandelson, the Business Secretary, to stress its urgent need for loan guarantees to support the sector during a downturn which has seen new car sales plummet.