Folger, currently the President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and a Mercedes-Benz veteran for over three decades, will take the new responsibility of heading Mercedes-Benz India from October 1, 2015, the company said in a statement.
Under Kern's leadership during the past three years, Mercedes-Benz India has made a strong comeback to become the number one in luxury car segment in India.
During the first quarter of 2015, Mercedes-Benz sold 3,566 units, overtaking rival Audi, which sold 3,139 units. In January-June, the company's sales grew 41 per cent at 6,659 units as compared to 4,717 units in the year-ago period.
Commenting on the change, Kern said: "After heading India operations for three years, I can confidently state that in my entire three decades of Daimler career, the stint in India remains the most memorable one."
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It is very satisfying to see immense growth of Mercedes-Benz in India as sales volumes nearly doubled from 2012 to 2015, he added.
After holding several positions in sales departments for Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles with responsibility for the South East Asia region, Folger was appointed Vice President for Sales, Marketing and After Sales at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, where he was part of the 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 of Vans in September, 2008.