(Yicai) Dec. 12 -- Hubertus Troska, the board member responsible for Mercedes-Benz Group's business in China, will leave the post in February and step in as a general authorized representative of the German auto giant for the Asian country until he retires at the end of July.

Troska will "fully dedicate himself to the complex transformation of the business system, as well as a smooth and successful transition to his successor in the company's highest-volume market until his retirement on July 31," Mercedes-Benz announced yesterday.

Oliver Thöne, head of product strategy and steering, one of the most important posts in vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz, will succeed Troska as the board member for China starting Feb. 1, the carmaker noted. The company's course for its product portfolio up to the 2030s was successfully set under Thöne's leadership, it added.

Mercedes-Benz is undergoing an active transformation in China to cope with more intense market competition, announcing plans to jointly invest more than CNY14 billion (USD2 billion) with its local partners to gradually launch passenger and light commercial vehicle models exclusive to the country in early September.

Luxury brands face pressure in China, with relevant sales falling 4 percent to 260,000 autos last month from a year earlier, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. In addition, their market share shrank to 10.9 percent from 13.1 percent in the period.

The price war in the Chinese auto market has spread to luxury cars, leading to a significant drop in Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi prices.

Mercedes-Benz's research and development operations in China, which started in 2005, have included over 2,000 experts. The firm has invested CNY10.5 billion in related activities in the country over the past five years, mainly in the electrification and intelligent R&D fields, with its local R&D team being its broadest outside Germany.

In addition to Troska, Mercedes-Benz announced that Sabine Kohleisen, responsible for human relations and labor director, and Renata Jungo Brüngger, in charge of integrity, governance, and sustainability, will also retire around the end of next year. The carmaker added four new members to its management board.

Editor: Martin Kadiev