•The new appointment comes into effect as Boris Fitz completes his successful tenure of four years in India and will be taking up a new assignment with Mercedes-Benz Turkey
•Michael Jopp is currently Head of Sales Management at Mercedes-Benz Cars Deutschland in Berlin and is responsible for developing sales measures and steering sales strategy
•The appointment came into effect from 1st August, 2016
Chandigarh 05 August 2016: India’s largest luxury car maker, Mercedes-Benz India today announced a key appointment in its Sales and Marketing function. The company appointed Michael Jopp as the Vice-President of Sales and Marketing beginning August 1, 2016. The new appointment comes into effect as Boris Fitz, Vice-President, Sales and Network Development, completes his successful tenure in India and will be taking over a larger role at Mercedes-Benz Turkey.
Mercedes-Benz India appoints Michael Jopp as its Head of Sales and Marketing
Commenting on the new appointment, Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “Boris played a pivotal role in Mercedes-Benz’s sales growth as the company witnessed a remarkable sales success amidst myriad market challenges. He was instrumental in creating the densest and most qualitative dealer network for Mercedes-Benz with dedicated dealer partners. We highly value Boris’ contribution to the rapid growth of Mercedes-Benz in India. We are equally excited to welcome Michael and are confident that with his rich experience in the domain of sales and marketing in Mercedes-Benz Cars, Michael will continue the strong growth momentum of the Three Pointed Star in this highly competitive and dynamic market.”
Michael has close to two decades of experience in the domestic automobile industry in Germany and also in international markets both on the OEM and distributor side. He has rich experience in areas of sales management, product management, marketing and general management. Currently he is responsible for sales performance and sales profitability for Mercedes-Benz Cars in Berlin. Michael also has considerable experience working with the ‘smart’ brand and with its dealer network. A MBA from Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta, Michael loves playing golf, traveling and has a passion for literature.
About Mercedes-Benz India:
Established in 1994, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. pioneered the luxury car market in India and boasts of more than 130 years of cutting edge innovation in the luxury automobile industry globally. Set up in 2009, Mercedes-Benz India’s world class production facility is spread over 100 acres in Chakan near Pune. Since June 2015, Mercedes-Benz India also commenced production from its new expanded production facility located in the same premises. The production facility now carries an investment of INR 1000+ crores and has the largest installed production capacity for any luxury car maker in India.
Mercedes-Benz India product portfolio comprises the locally produced Mercedes Maybach S 500, S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, CLA luxury sedans and the GLA, GLE and the GLS luxury SUVs. Completely Built imported cars portfolio includes the A-Class, B-Class, CLS, SLK, E-Class Cabriolet, S-Class Coupé, GLC and the S 600 Guard a range of other Guard vehicles etc.
The product portfolio also comprises the iconic off-roader Mercedes-AMG G 63 as well as a wide range of other Mercedes-AMG performance cars like the AMG CLA 45, AMG C 63 S, AMG S 63 Coupe, AMG GL 63, AMG S 63, AMG GLA 45, GLE 450 AMG Coupe, AMG GT S sports car and the AMG SLC 43. Given Mercedes-Benz’s continuous success in India across myriad spectrum of sales, network, operations, services, finance, etc. 2016 will be the cornerstone to inculcate the spirit of winning despite emerging market challenges.
‘Winning with Mercedes-Benz’ philosophy is also derived from the unrivalled success created by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team in the highly competitive Formula 1 in the past years. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz will initiate a range of innovative customer oriented initiatives which are ‘winning’ in nature and will further underline the brand’s strong customer centric approach. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz began its ‘winning’ motto with the launch of the fascinating GLE 450 AMG Coupe, as the first product of the year. This was followed up with the introduction of the Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard which is the costliest product from Mercedes-Benz India fleet, yet. Mercedes-Benz also introduced the S400 flagship sedan and also the luxurious SUV GLS 350 d. The quintessential SUV that strengthens the SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz is the GLC and this was launched in June. The sixth launch of the year, AMG SLC 43 got launched in India nearly after four months of its international debut with a two-digit nomenclature 43.
Underlining the service excellence achieved in India, the company has also been ranked number one in the prestigious J.D. Power Customer Service Index 2015, among all the luxury brands for the second year in a row. Mercedes-Benz India also registered a historic 32% year-on-year growth by selling 13502 units in the Jan–December 2015 period and became the No. 1 luxury car brand in terms of sales volumes. Mercedes-Benz scripted historic sales for the 2015-16 Fiscal Year, selling 13,558 units between April 2015 and March 2016. The company has maintained steady sales growth by selling 6,597 units from January to June 2016 period. The brand has won as many as 30 prestigious automotive awards conferred by different media houses across India, the highest won by any luxury automotive brand in India this year.
Mercedes-Benz launched one-of-its kind, innovative service programme, ‘My Mercedes-My Service’. With the launch of this programme, Mercedes-Benz aims to completely redefine the after-sales experience by digitizing service process and create an unparalleled benchmark in the luxury car service do-main. ‘My Mercedes-My Service’ programme comprises industry first initiatives like ‘Digital Service Drive’, ‘Premier Express Service’ and innovative ‘Service Products’.