Klaus Maier Leaves Daimler, Joachim Schmidt to Replace Him

Daimler's head of sales and marketing for Mercedes Benz cars has decided to step down, due to personal reasons as of October 1. He will be replaced by Joachim Schmidt, at the moment head of sales Central/Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

“As Head of Sales at Mercedes-Benz, Klaus Maier has made his mark in many ways. This applies to brand positioning as well as the realignment of the product portfolio towards a younger target group. In addition, Klaus Maier has initiated the reorganization of worldwide sales. I very much regret that Klaus Maier would now like to leave his position for personal reasons,” Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman of the board said in a release.

Maier's decision to leave the German manufacturer comes at a time when, despite the still declining volume, the overall industry shows signs of recovery. In August, Mercedes sold 73,200 vehicles, compared to 84,400 last year.

Out of that volume, 66,200 units were Mercedes Benz passenger cars. As was to be expected, the region with the biggest taste for Mercedes cars in August was, once again, Asia-Pacific, with China reporting a 51.9 percent increase in sales. A fact which makes the appointment of that region's sales chief even more righteous.

“In Joachim Schmidt, we have a professional taking over sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars – an executive who knows the company better than most. It is largely thanks to him that the Mercedes-Benz brand grew at double-digit rates and extended its market leadership in the regions for which he was responsible in 2007 and 2008. I am delighted that we have gained him for this position,” Zetsche added.