Roland S Folger to steer Mercedes-Benz India

Mercedes-Benz India will see a change of guard as the German car manufacturer announced today that Roland S. Folger will take over the reigns of India operations. Folger will replace Eberhard Kern, the Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, who will assume a new role for the European market.

Under the leadership of Kern during the last three years, Mercedes-Benz India has transformed itself from being a conservative backbencher in the luxury segment to the most dynamic brand by significantly increasing network, production capacity and product portfolio. In 2014, Mercedes-Benz India crossed the five digit sales mark and based on CSI score and brand equity in the luxury car category in India, Mercedes-Benz today leads the luxury car market in India and also holds numero uno position.

The outgoing Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, Eberhard Kern, said that 'India experience' is the most memorable stint in his entire three decades of Daimler career. He added, "It is very satisfying to see the immense growth of Mercedes-Benz in India as our sales volumes nearly doubled from 2012 to 2015. I am confident that the brand will scale new heights with the able leadership of Roland. Europe would be a different market altogether, and my India experience would be quite handy.”

Roland Folger, currently the President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, who will take charge of Mercedes-Benz India on October 1, 2015, said, “I feel extremely privileged to head the operations in India, which is an emerging luxury car market in which Mercedes-Benz is the fastest growing luxury automotive brand. With my experience across business divisions I look forward to pursue the ‘India story’ further and make the foundation of Mercedes-Benz even stronger in this dynamic country.We have one of the finest teams and dealer partners on-board with us and I am eager to be part of it.”

Like Kern, Folger too is a Mercedes-Benz veteran for over three decades. After holding several positions in Sales departments for Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles with responsibility for the SEA region, he was appointed Vice President for Sales, Marketing and After Sales at MBUSI in Tuscaloosa, where Folger was part of the pioneering team that introduced the first M-Class in the USA.

In 2006, he joined Mercedes-Benz Vans division as Head of Product Management and Marketing Communication and two years later took over the responsibility for worldwide Sales Vans in September 2008. Effective March 1st, 2011, Folger was appointed President& CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.