Team-BHP - Mercedes India MD Dr. Wilfried Aulbur resigns !!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCS (Post 2065631)

Pressure from BMW ??? :D

What exactly do you mean by this comment? Are you talking about BMW's selling numbers?

If you're saying yes to that then let me tell you that Mercedes Benz in India is back on track.

Maybe he picked up a new assignment somewhere, or personal reasons, or whatever it may be. The last reason is Mercedes' performance, because it has been quite strong. The C and S are ahead, while the E is keeping up.

What's the big deal anyway? He had a good stint here, maybe it's time for change. I don't remember us making such a fuss about things like this when Peter Kronschabl handed over to Andreas Schaaf at the F10 launch.

Hold on guys, we are getting too much into the numbers game. Both MB and BMW are in to make money, not to sell cars at any cost. BMW globally are having issues in profitability. They are making money but need to improve against benchmarks so I understand

As recompose posted, Mercs just had like their best month ever in the Indian market. The C & S are no.1 in their segments, with the E not too far behind the 5. Dr. Aulbur is moving on to another organisation.

Received the following info from Mercedes:

Quote:

"Dr. Aulbur will be successfully completing his fifth year as the MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India by the end of 2010. Over these years, the company has grown aggressively and Mercedes-Benz has successfully managed to harness the potential in the luxury car segment. During his tenure, Mercedes-Benz established its presence in the truck and the bus business and significantly expanded its research and sourcing operations in India. With the construction of the new factory and several additional projects close to approval, Dr. Aulbur has decided to accept a new challenge outside of the Daimler group within India. Dr. Aulbur will remain with Mercedes-Benz India till a successor is identified to ensure a smooth transition."

JLR has hardly any presence in India to merit Dr. Albur, unless Tatas are planning to assemble Jaguar & Land Rovers in India.

Well in such a case it is a brilliant move as Dr. Albur has now plenty of experience of making and selling premium cars in India. As Head of MB India having their factory at Pune within the Telco premises earlier, he must have had plenty of interaction with Tatas so both the parties know each other very well.

If true then best of luck to Tatas and JLR India.

Rather surprising... I thought he was set for greater heights in the company

As far as possibility of moving to JLR we have to wait & watch.

JLR might be interested in people like Carl Peter Forester ( car guy with a very strong product strategy, product development back ground ). Also coming from MB getting adjusted to Tata / JLR culture could also be an issue

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2065739)

Received the following info from Mercedes:

"Dr. Aulbur will be successfully completing his fifth year as the MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India by the end of 2010. Over these years, the company has grown aggressively and Mercedes-Benz has successfully managed to harness the potential in the luxury car segment. During his tenure, Mercedes-Benz established its presence in the truck and the bus business and significantly expanded its research and sourcing operations in India. With the construction of the new factory and several additional projects close to approval, Dr. Aulbur has decided to accept a new challenge outside of the Daimler group within India. Dr. Aulbur will remain with Mercedes-Benz India till a successor is identified to ensure a smooth transition."

Daimler has clearly stated that he is planning to stay on in India but in a different company.

But, it is unlikely that he will be moving to TATA-JLR coz Daimler must have included the "non-compete" clause in the separation agreement made with Dr. Aulbur and this will prevent him from working for any company with products competing against Mercedes atleast in the Indian market.

Both Mercedes under Dr.Aulbur and BMW under Kronschnabl had given Indians a display of good clean competition - both at the strategic level and in terms of product launches / extensions for India. Unlike Audi, which seems to have lost the plot until when they surprised themselves with the launch of Q7

Hope both Merc and BMW display the same intensity under new leadership - it will be nice to watch, even from the sidelines for a guy like me, a non merc/bmw customer even over a long haul :)

PS : Good to see a thread with many Mods contributing.