Mercedes-Benz "Old Tang" successfully retires

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Chai Xuchen

The transformation of the global automotive industry is still ongoing, which is also reflected in a series of personnel changes.

On December 10, Mercedes-Benz Group announced the latest personnel changes in its board of directors. Hubertus Troska, the current board member responsible for Mercedes-Benz's Greater China operations, is scheduled to retire in 2025. Oliver Thöne, the current head of product strategy and planning, will succeed Troska as a board member starting February 1 next year.

Before this announcement, Troska had worked in this position for 12 years, during which he experienced the rapid development of the Chinese automotive market and led Mercedes-Benz to new heights in China. At one point, he led the Greater China region to become the company's largest single market.

Mercedes-Benz Chairman Ola Källenius commented that he and his team drove a threefold increase in Mercedes-Benz's sales in China and made significant contributions to the local production network, R&D capabilities, and the development of the Chinese team.

When Troska first took over the Greater China region in 2012, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China were less than 200,000 units, and at that time, the luxury market was dominated by the "ABB" trio, with Mercedes-Benz's scale far smaller than the other two, and its global sales were just over 1.3 million units.

In recent years, however, Mercedes-Benz's annual sales in China have consistently remained above 700,000 units. This more than threefold growth has significantly contributed to the increase in Mercedes-Benz's annual sales, with the Chinese market accounting for about one-third of the company's total sales at one point.

Behind this success is Troska's profound insight into the Chinese market.

For a long time, Troska has been regarded as the German who understands the Chinese automotive market best, as he not only understands the market but is also adept at localization and has consistently listened to the voices of Chinese consumers.

As a key navigator leading Mercedes-Benz's journey in China, he completed two major tasks shortly after taking office: standardizing the naming of the SUV lineup and updating the entire model range. Moreover, despite most overseas models taking over a year to synchronize domestically, localized models followed just a few months after their foreign release.

After the establishment of Beijing Benz, he proposed more accurate positioning and more affordable pricing, addressing the issue of outdated sales models and providing consumers with more diverse choices. As a result, since 2014, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China have been on the rise.

Beyond products, in the years following his appointment, he also integrated sales channels, expanded the domestic dealer network, and brought sales channels down to third- and fourth-tier cities in China.

Due to his continuous efforts in the Chinese market, Troska has built a complete and sustainable Mercedes-Benz system in China, establishing a localized framework from production and sales to R&D.

Over the past 12 years, the keyword for Mercedes-Benz in the Chinese market has been localization, from production to sales and later to R&D. Mercedes-Benz has long viewed the Chinese market not just as a consumer market but has actively engaged in the transformation of the Chinese market.

In 2014, Mercedes-Benz launched its China R&D center; in 2021, it officially upgraded the China R&D center to the "China R&D Technology Center"; and in 2022, Mercedes-Benz established the "Shanghai R&D Center." In recent years, as traditional luxury brands have faced challenges in the Chinese market, Tang Shikai has led his team to dive deep into the trends and keep up with the currents. This is also how Mercedes-Benz has responded to the challenges posed by the transformation of consumer demand in the Chinese market and the competition from new forces.

Mercedes-Benz has made significant investments in local R&D in China.

In the past five years, Mercedes-Benz's R&D investment in China has totaled 10.5 billion yuan. In September of this year, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to invest over 14 billion yuan in collaboration with Chinese partners, further advancing the localization of its passenger car and light commercial vehicle product lineup.

Currently, Mercedes-Benz's R&D team in China has more than 2,000 people, making it the most comprehensive R&D team outside of Germany. These funds and human resources are directed towards the highly competitive fields of electrification and intelligence in the current Chinese automotive market.

The transformation of the Chinese automotive market is ongoing, and the waves of electrification and intelligence will sweep the globe in the future, posing challenges to traditional car manufacturers. Especially in the Chinese market, traditional luxury brands are losing attention and market share to new forces such as Hongmeng Zhixing and Li Auto.

Now, Mercedes-Benz, along with its past overseas luxury partners, also needs to face the anxiety of transformation. This presents a significant challenge for the new successor in the Greater China region.

According to public information, the successor, Tong Oufu, is currently one of the most important leaders in the product development field of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. Under his leadership, the Mercedes-Benz Group has successfully planned its entire future model lineup up to the 2030s.

For Tong Oufu, in this new period of transformation, whether he can take up the new banner of Mercedes-Benz's transformation in the Chinese market is what the market is most looking forward to