Burzer.
STUTTGART (Germany): Mercedes-Benz Group AG is replacing its chief technology officer Markus Schafer as the German luxury-car maker prepares for additional cost cuts.Current production chief Jorg Burzer, 55, will take over as CTO from Dec 1, Mercedes said Wednesday.
Luxury-brand boss Michael Schiebe will succeed Burzer and also join the management board.
The moves may tighten Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius' grip on the automaker, which is grappling with high costs and intensifying competition in China.
Schiebe, who currently oversees AMG, Maybach and the G-Class offroader, is one of Kallenius' closest allies and has been helping to implement the CEO's push further upmarket.
"The aim is to further accelerate the company's transformation with a clear focus on customer value, technological excellence and operational efficiency," Mercedes said in a statement.
Schafer, 60, will step down after three decades at Mercedes.
He has played a central role in the carmaker's digitalization and electrification push, spearheading the development of MB.OS, its in-house operating system.
Burzer has overseen production and supply chains since 2019, winning credit for making Mercedes factories more flexible.
Under his leadership, the company introduced mixed assembly of combustion, hybrid and battery-electric cars - a shift that helped it adjust as EV demand lagged expectations.
Schiebe.
Schiebe has proved adept at boosting top-end sales and is seen as a key player in Kallenius' luxury-focused strategy.
Since taking over AMG in 2023, he's rolled out performance variants that shored up pricing power even as EV sales cooled.
Maybach has logged record deliveries under his watch, led by China and the US, while the G-Class has remained one of Mercedes' most profitable models.
Even so, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer is wrestling with high costs and questions over its luxury strategy.
Heavy spending on new technology and a softening global market for premium cars have squeezed profitability, while scaling back cheaper models has made Mercedes more reliant on demand for pricey EVs.
