{"id":136649,"date":"2019-05-22T11:50:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T15:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=136649"},"modified":"2019-05-22T11:50:17","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T15:50:17","slug":"daimler-ag-ushers-in-new-era-with-massive-reorganization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2019\/05\/daimler-ag-ushers-in-new-era-with-massive-reorganization\/","title":{"rendered":"Daimler AG Ushers in New Era with Massive Reorganization"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche speaks to attendees at his last shareholder meeting as chairman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the auto industry facing a turbulent transformation, Daimler AG is putting in place a new corporate structure and a new leadership team, while vowing to remain committed to what its outgoing chief executive described as a sustainable future.<\/p>\n

Dieter Zetsche, who has led Daimler AG for the past 13 years and who a German business magazine recently described as the only \u201cworld class business leader in the auto industry,\u201d\u00a0relinquishes his dual role as chief executive officer as a chairman of the board of management and head of Mercedes-Benz cars.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Global News!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ola Kallenius will replace Zetsche and take on the dual role as CEO and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. In addition, Harold Wilhelm will replace Daimler\u2019s long-serving chief financial officer, Bodo Ubber.\u00a0In addition,\u00a0Markus Schaefer will take over Kallenius\u2019 previous role as head of research and development and a broader role for Brita Seeger,\u00a0chief of sales for Mercedes-Benz Cars.<\/p>\n

Zetsche is tentatively scheduled to return in two years when he will replace Manfred Bischoff as chairman of\u00a0Daimler\u2019s independent board of supervisors, which is responsible for hiring a firing of senior executives and capital expenditures and other critical issues related to corporate governance.<\/p>\n

With a view to future challenges and the required social acceptance, Daimler is anchoring sustainability even more firmly in the corporate strategy, Zetsche said.<\/p>\n

(Daimler prepares cost-cutting plans for new chief Kallenius. <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for the story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dieter Zetsche, left, hands over the top job at Daimler AG to Ola Kallenius, right, during the automaker's annual meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Our goal is to act sustainably in all areas of our business \u2013 from conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations to data protection and respect for human rights,” said Zetsche. \u201cHowever, the main focus of our attention at present is on the low-emission car.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is because the number of vehicles on the roads will continue to rise as a result of global demand. Emissions must therefore be reduced all the more urgently. For us, the Paris Climate Agreement is more than a commitment \u2013 it is a conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zetsche told restless shareholders, concerned about the drop in the value of the company\u2019s share over the past years that under the title “Ambition 2039”, the Mercedes-Benz Cars division has set itself ambitious yet realistic goals.<\/p>\n

Mercedes-Benz is taking a holistic view of sustainability along the entire value chain. The aim is to transform the entire portfolio of new cars into a carbon dioxide-neutral range of vehicles by 2039, he said.<\/p>\n

“Daimler has made significant progress in recent years, although we are not satisfied with the latest quarterly results and the share price,” Zetsche added. “For a time, we were active troubleshooters and we refocused the company on what we do best: vehicles that convince rationally and inspire emotionally. Then we went on the offensive. With Mercedes-Benz, we wanted to lead the premium segment by 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zetsche also told\u00a0shareholders\u00a0that China is now the \u201cdynamo\u201d that drives Daimler, accounting for more than 30% of the company\u2019s\u00a0sales.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more about\u00a0Mercedes taking orders for the new EQC battery-electric vehicle.)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Attendees at this year's Daimler annual shareholder meeting offered some critical remarks about the company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But speakers representing large blocs of shares,\u00a0noted that Daimler was facing enormous and expensive challenges as the auto industry moves into a new era that is altering expectations about future technology and mobility.\u00a0\u201cDaimler has an underlying problem with efficiency, which Mr. Zetsche has never addressed. As fast as you earn the money, you spend it,\u201d one critical shareholder representative said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the company faces lawsuits about its diesel engines\u00a0that could stop Zetsche from assuming a new role with the company, speakers noted.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, shareholders\u00a0were asked to vote on a resolution that would then clear the way for the group to combine the car and van businesses as well as the truck and bus businesses into two legally independent entities by way of a spin off.<\/p>\n

Mercedes-Benz AG\u00a0is to be responsible for the Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans divisions, while the Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses divisions are to be controlled by\u00a0Daimler Truck AG. Daimler Financial Services AG, which is already legally independent, will be called\u00a0Daimler Mobility AG\u00a0starting July 24. The two new companies, like the current Daimler AG and the future Daimler Mobility AG, would be co-determined German stock corporations subject with registered offices in Stuttgart.<\/p>\n

Bischoff said the resolution represents the most comprehensive reorganization in Daimler’s more than 130-year corporate history and, in addition to the business operations in Germany, will involve approximately 800 subsidiaries in more than 60 countries. In terms of revenue and total number of employees at Daimler AG, it is also the largest reorganization that has taken place at a German company in recent years.<\/p>\n

“Daimler aspires to be a leader in the new era of mobility,\u201d Bischoff said.<\/p>\n

(To see more about Daimler’s\u00a0\u201ccarbon neutral\u201d plans under Ambition 2039,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Project Future,\u2019 Daimler is giving itself a corporate structure that reflects and supports its strategic orientation,” said Bischoff. \u201cStrong customer-oriented divisions will significantly increase Daimler’s speed and flexibility in view of the technical and financial challenges facing the industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the auto industry facing a turbulent transformation, Daimler AG is putting in place a new corporate structure and a new leadership team, while vowing to remain committed to what its outgoing chief executive described as a sustainable future. Get the details behind the corporate changes at Daimler at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20009,"featured_media":136653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5,13,12],"tags":[],"make":[48,85],"post-state":[],"category_old":[286,150,151,123,287,256,289,299,169,163,132,196,284,125,121,139,290,291,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136649"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=136649"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=136649"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=136649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}