Daimler to Add Board Member to Oversee China Unit

Daimler AG intends to put a senior executive in charge of its operations in China, thus adding an eighth member to its management board, Der Spiegel reports.

The magazine, which does not cite sources, says the appointment will be made at the company's next supervisory board meeting.

The new China chief will be expected to revamp the business there to accelerate growth, according to Spiegel. It says Mercedes-Benz lags its German luxury rivals in China in part because it operates two separate distribution networks. One sells cars imported from Germany and the other markets vehicles made by Daimler's joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Co.

Unless Daimler can boost sales in China, the company will find it difficult to attain its goal of doubling global Mercedes and Smart sales to 2.6 million vehicles by 2020 to overtake BMW and Volkswagen's Audi unit, the magazine notes.