File photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

On March 7th, National Business Daily learned from Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Company (BMBS) that the company's President and CEO Jan Madeja would soon end his nearly four-year term in the Chinese market and return to the German headquarters for a new position, and that Chief Operating Officer of Sales and Marketing Duan Jianjun will take over Madeja's position at the company, effective from May 1st. 

This is the first time that BMBS has picked a local professional manager to take the helm, signaling the positive changes made by Mercedes-Benz to suit the Chinese market better.

During Jan Madeja's tenure, he promoted stable sales growth for Mercedes-Benz in the Chinese market. In 2020, under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, Mercedes-Benz’s sales in China still increased by 11.7% year-on-year to 774,400 units and reached a record high of 785,900 units in 2021. In the year of 2022, the whole luxury car market showed a lackluster performance, and Mercedes-Benz's sales dropped to 751,700 units, but reported the slightest drop as compared to BMW and Audi. 

Duan Jianjun has nearly 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He joined BMBS in 2013 as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Sales and Marketing in 2019.

However, Duan Jianjun is currently facing a more complex market environment than before. The traditional luxury car market fell by 4% as a whole, while the new energy luxury car market grew by 49% year on year. Mercedes-Benz faces stiff competition from electric car brands including Tesla, Nio and Li Auto in addition to big rivals BMW and Audi. 

It is worth mentioning that since this year, many foreign auto companies including Toyota, Ford China and Audi have undergone management changes to cope with more intense competition in the electric car market.