Mercedes-Benz poached the top executives of Fortune 500 dealer group Litzia to carry out the brand’s US sales operations
- Adam Chamberlain, operational chief of auto retailer Litzia & Driveway, will take over as CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA from July. The German premium brand is in the process of restructuring its leadership team in key markets after the recent appointment of new global sales boss Matthias Geisen.
Mercedes-Benz is poaching the operations manager of Litzia & Driveway, one of the largest auto retailers in the United States, to run a national retailer in the United States.
On July 1st, Adam Chamberlain will take over from Dimitris Psillakis, current CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA. He will lead MBUSA’s more than 1,600 employees and more than 380 dealer partners across the United States to report to Jason Hoff.New headof the group’s North American arms.
The move has led to Mercedes Global Sales and Marketing Chief Matthias Geisen reshuffling management of his division.Take the reinsMarch, from Brittasiger8 years Running sales.
The German premium brand has fallen badly to the recent Archival BMW. At the group level, both sold 2.4 million vehicles last year, but the Mercedes brand managed only 2 million without a van business, compared to the 2.2 million BMW branded cars. Worse, Mercedes’ all-electric vehicles were undersold, with 23% down to 185,059 vehicles falling in 2024, with BMW doubled with a 12% increase.
“Adam is a proven executive with over 30 years of global automotive experience, including the past nine years in the US,” said Geisen, Mercedes sales boss. “He brings an extraordinary blend of strategic and operational excellence both in the manufacturer and retail industry, providing strong connections with teams, dealers and customers.”
Between 2016 and 2021, Chamberlain worked as Vice President of Sales and Product Management at Mercedes-Benz USA, leading the brand’s retail and product strategy in the US market.
MBUSA is responsible for the second largest market for brands after China, accounting for around 16% of the total year. Excluding commercial transport vans and Mercedes It sold Over 324,500 passenger cars, led by GLE Crossover, built in Alabama.
“The beginning of a new chapter in our long-standing partnership with Mercedes-Benz.”
“We are extremely grateful for Adam’s leadership as Chief Operating Officer and the value he has brought to Litzia and the driveway,” said Brian DeBorer, president and CEO of the company.statementon tuesday. “His contributions have helped us to strengthen our operations, hone our product and customer awareness, drive growth and drive strategy.”
Deboer said Chamberlain could remain a valuable ally to move forward as the US auto retail industry continues to change. In the highly fragmented car dealership market, Litzia & Driveways is one of the largest vehicles in showrooms and vehicles for sale.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter in our long-standing partnership with Mercedes-Benz,” the Litzia boss said.
One of the major trends affecting dealers is that automakers are experimenting with direct sales. Mostly startups like Libian, many other brands are trying to follow Tesla And to end restrictions that would not legally bypass them, and to sell new cars to consumers.
Because it is a structurally low margin business, owning customer relationships makes it easier for automakers to mine retail data, making it easier for them to upgrade and miscellaneous sales to actual vehicle post-sale services. It also helps to more closely restrain customers and improve loyalty when things work out.
Mercedes has carefully researched this approach in select international markets, but so far it has not been carefully considered in the US.
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com