After more than 13 years at the helm of the car maker Daimler, Dieter Zetsche leaves post the chief. He passes it to the Sweden Ola Källenius. The comes with a bold goal.
It is a finish with the announcement of the end of September of last year, the Stuttgart-based car maker announced the withdrawal of Dieter Zetsche to the next annual General meeting. The man with the distinctive moustache to be from 2021, the chief overseer of the group, and the mandatory “cooling time” to adhere to two years, is now closing. At the shareholder meeting this Wednesday (22. May) will be selected by the designated new chief Ola Källenius, the Chairman of the Board.
The Swede is 49 years old, business economist, has been working since 1993 for the group and 2015 Board of Directors since the beginning of the member at Daimler. So far, he is division head of group research, as well as the development of the Car. Källenius is not valid for a long time already as a crown Prince of Zetsche – which means that the New wants to set its own accents. A clear message it gave of him a few days ago: “We aim to achieve a CO2-neutral new-vehicle fleet in 20 years.” Want to be called: Källenius prescribed Daimler, the departure from the pure combustion drive up to the year 2039. And to make it clear that the Swede is serious, after he pushed: “We need a sustainability strategy, not as a Supplement. The business strategy itself must be sustainable.”
He also abolished the tie: The future Daimler CEO Ola Källenius
Källenius takes well-ordered field and problems
It sounds as demanding as the strategy of the Wolfsburg Volkswagen group, wants to be by 2050 a 100 percent climate-neutral mobility provider. Exciting times for all car manufacturers, and yet, Michael Brecht, head of Daimler says-total Council operating over the head of exchange: “It is not as if there was now someone falls from the sky and we don’t know how he (Källenius) is ticking.”
The acting chief Dieter Zetsche leaves the New a predominantly well-ordered field. The rough lines are drawn, the restructuring of the group was already a done deal. Zetsche arranged the Deal with the Chinese car maker Geely, which started in the past year, with nearly ten percent in the case of the Swabians. Recently, it was agreed that Geely will take over the production of the full note: City runabout Smart. Also, a cooperation with BMW on the topic of “Autonomous Driving” was headed by Zetsche in the way.
Dieter Zetsche and Geely boss Li Shufu shake hands in accordance with the Smart Deal. On The Right, Ola Källenius. Since a tie is announced.
“He has made a pearl out of Daimler,” says auto expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer about the term Zetsches. In fact, the car maker was to Zetsches office, still marked by the consequences of a totally failed marriage with the US car maker Chrysler. Engineered by Zetsches predecessor, Jürgen Schrempp, shortly before the turn of the Millennium, and as “wedding in heaven” celebrated, it is Zetsche first Chrysler boss. In the United States, he is famous with his appearances as “Dr. Z” commercials.
Everything helps, but nothing: in 2006, he inherited Schrempp to the Executive chair of Daimler-Benz, a year later, he completed the Chapter on the Chrysler.
In the end, the momentum was missing
To completely overhauling the home of the car manufacturer completely, the rigid Image of the “pensioner-Benz” is a thing of the past, Daimler is to be “hip” and Zetsche are on the move: tie, sneakers. Only the moustache remains. The customers go with the change, the car maker rushes from sales record to sales record. He manages to make Mercedes back to the number One of the three premium brands BMW and Audi. But of course, Daimler doesn’t come out unscathed, as the Volkswagen diesel gate is overrun. Zetsche declared, is not initially cocky, that there were such in his home. Wrong. Daimler also is caught to fraud in the Exhaust and also the allegations to the formation of a cartel for price-fixing further extends Zetsche as a legacy to his successor.
Without a tie, with Sneakers – Zetsche at the presentation of the electric SUV EQC
Dieter Zetsche needs to announce at its last balance sheet press conference in early February, a drastic profit slump by almost a third. And also the Start to the current year is rather poor. A new impetus is needed, and should and must provide to Ola Källenius. A dowry that will appeal to him, has given him Dieter Zetsche, Since a few days is a city-terrain EQC the first fully electric car by Mercedes (the Car subsidiary of Daimler) in the trade. As it is said, will be built this year, 100 units per day, next year the production should be reduced to 200 – that would be 50,000 units a year. For comparison: in 2018, were sold by the Mercedes-Benz brand, a total of 2.3 million cars. This shows what a rocky way to go for the big goal of the Oli Källenius: climate neutral by 2039.