Daimler Supervisory Board appoints Hubertus Troska as Board of Management Member for China and extends contract of Andreas Renschler

STUTTGART, Germany, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In its meeting today, the Daimler Supervisory Board appointed Hubertus Troska (52) as the member of the Board of Management for the newly created position of "China" effective December 13, 2012 until December 31, 2015. Troska will thus be CEO and Chairman of Daimler Northeast Asia and responsible for all of Daimler's strategic and operating activities in China. In the same meeting, the Supervisory Board also extended the contract of Andreas Renschler (54), Member of the Daimler Board of Management with responsibility for Daimler Trucks, until September 30, 2018. The appointment of Hubertus Troska expands the Daimler Board of Management to eight members.

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"China has developed into the world's biggest market for motor vehicles. With the decision to establish a Board of Management position specifically for this market, we are underscoring the strategic importance of China for Daimler. We continue to see great potential there for sustained growth and the continuous expansion of our business activities. Hubertus Troska has gained a wide range of experience over many years at Daimler, in the areas of both commercial vehicles and cars. He will help us to achieve the goals we have set in China," stated Dr. Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Daimler Supervisory Board.

"At the same time, we are pleased that Andreas Renschler, a highly experienced executive, will continue to be the head of Daimler Trucks. He will steadily implement the division's strategy in collaboration with the Supervisory Board so that the goals that have been set are achieved," continued Dr. Manfred Bischoff.

Ulrich Walker (61), Chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia, will retire after serving the Daimler Group for almost 30 years, six of which were spent in China. In a transitional phase, he will support Hubertus Troska with his extensive knowledge and experience of China.

"On behalf of the entire Board of Management, I wholeheartedly thank Ulrich Walker for his commitment and his contribution to the success of Daimler's business in China during the past six years. We have achieved a lot under his leadership: Meanwhile, no western automotive manufacturer is as broadly positioned as Daimler in the world's biggest vehicle market – from cars to vans to trucks and financial services. With the new 'China' Board of Management position, we will ensure that all aspects of this dynamic market are dealt with directly in the Board of Management team, and we have found the right man for this task," stated Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.  

Hubertus Troska

Hubertus Troska was born on March 25, 1960 in Bilbao, Spain. After studying business administration and English and Spanish literature in Germany and Wales, he first spent four years at an international construction company. In 1988, he came to the then Daimler-Benz AG. He started his career in the sales department of the corporate headquarters in Stuttgart and later assumed various managing positions in Mexico and the United States for the Trucks division. In 1997, he was appointed as a member of the management of Mercedes-Benz Turk AS in Turkey, and was made head of product marketing in the sales department of the then Mercedes Car Group in the year 2000. From 2003 until March 2005, he was the chief executive of Mercedes-AMG GmbH in Affalterbach. Since April 2005, he has been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Trucks (Europe/Latin America) business unit of Daimler Trucks.

Andreas Renschler

Andreas Renschler's Board of Management contract was due to expire on September 30, 2013. Pursuant to Section 84 Subsection 1 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), the Supervisory Board decides on a reappointment at the beginning of the last year of a period of office.

Andreas Renschler has been a member of Daimler's Board of Management and Head of Daimler Trucks since October 1, 2004. He was born on March 29, 1958 in Stuttgart. After school, he began studying industrial engineering and management at the Esslingen Polytechnic in 1979, graduating in 1983. From 1984 until 1987, he studied at Eberhard-Karls University in Tubingen, gaining a degree in business administration. In 1988, Renschler joined the Organization and IT department of the then Daimler-Benz AG.

Overview: Daimler in China

Daimler Northeast Asia is based in Beijing and includes Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Ltd, Daimler Northeast Asia Parts Trading & Services Co., Ltd., the joint ventures Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC), Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA), Fujian Benz Automotive Corporation (FBAC) and Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd., as well as sales companies in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.

Local production of Mercedes-Benz cars began with the predecessor series of the E-Class in the BBAC 50/50 joint venture in 2006; the second C-Class series followed in 2008. BBAC has been producing the current E-Class in a long-wheelbase version tailored specifically for the demands of the Chinese market since May 2010; the first locally produced GLK rolled off the production line in Beijing in December 2011.

On the sales side, Mercedes-Benz Cars is represented in China with its complete product portfolio; almost 200,000 vehicles were sold in the year 2011. The sales network comprised approximately 200 dealers in 2011 and about 50 more will be added this year. The brand is increasingly present also outside the Tier 1 cities.

China is already the fifth-largest sales market for Mercedes-Benz trucks. With a market share of more than 50% in the premium segment, Mercedes-Benz Trucks lead the market above all in the heavy-duty segment. In addition, Daimler is developing the volume segment of the world's biggest market for commercial vehicles in a joint venture with Foton-Motor, a Chinese truck manufacturer. Since mid-2012, the jointly produced medium and heavy trucks of the Auman brand have also been rolling off the production line in Beijing-Huairou.

In addition, Daimler has been producing Mercedes-Benz vans for the Chinese market since April 2010 in the Fujian Benz Automotive Corporation joint venture.

Daimler Financial Services has been providing automotive financing in China through Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance China since 2009. And together with BYD, Daimler has initiated the joint venture Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd to develop an electric vehicle for the Chinese market. This joint venture was officially approved in March 2011.

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About Daimler

Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world's biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles with a global reach. Daimler Financial Services provides financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance and innovative mobility services. The company's founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history with the invention of the automobile in the year 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility today: The Group's focus is on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior automobiles that appeal to and fascinate its customers. For many years now, Daimler has been investing continually in the development of alternative drive systems with the goal of making emission-free driving possible in the long term. So in addition to vehicles with hybrid drive, Daimler now has the broadest range of locally emission-free electric vehicles powered by batteries and fuel cells. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility towards society and the environment. Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities on five continents. Its current brand portfolio includes, in addition to the world's most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-Benz, the brands smart, Maybach, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, Fuso, Setra and Thomas Built Buses. The company is listed on the stock exchanges of Frankfurt and Stuttgart (stock exchange symbol DAI). In 2011, the Group sold 2.1 million vehicles and employed a workforce of more than 271,000 people; revenue totaled €106.5 billion and EBIT amounted to €8.8 billion.

SOURCE Daimler Corporate Communications