Eberhard Kern, who has been working with Daimler for the last three decades, has now been formally appointed as Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes Benz India Limited (MBIL). He takes over the reigns from Peter Honegg, who now will return back to Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The appointment took place in Pune, Maharashtra, in the presence of the Board of Directors at MBIL.
Feeling honoured with the responsibility bestowed upon him, Eberhard Kern said, “I inherit a very strong organization in this market where Mercedes-Benz is held in highest esteem. Our production facility is one of the best in the Mercedes-Benz world; our product line-up is exciting and holds tremendous potential. The New Generation Cars from the Mercedes stable will, in my opinion, play a pivotal role and our wide network of dealers are poised to support the growth. In short, the fundamentals are strong and we look forward to sustained profitable growth in the next years.” Kern's numerous work assignments in Asia and various global automotive markets make him perfectly suitable for the challenging role ahead in India.
While going back to Stuttgart, Peter said that he carries back great memories of India, stating that he found the country to be very colourful, and felt that the people were very warm and friendly. He also felt happy at handing over the responsibilities at MIBL to a person as capable as Eberhard Kern. Both of them have been with Daimler for almost the same duration, and have started a number of important initiatives.
Honegg replaced Wifried Aulbur as the Managing director and CEO of MBIL on 1st January 2011. It was a tough time, when the company faced intense competition from BMW India and Audi India. Unfortunately, over the course of his tenure, MBIL dropped to the number three position, after BMW and Audi, in the Indian luxury automotive segment. However, MBIL was able to show a growth of 27% by selling 7,430 units in 2011, but reported a slowdown after this. A fresh investment of Rs. 300 crore was announced during Honegg's tenure to set up a new assembly line, paint shop and for MBIL to enter into the premium compact hatchback segment with the A Class.
