The board of management at Daimler AG has appointed Martin Jaeger as the new head of global external affairs and public policy.
Mr Jaeger is currently Foreign Office spokesman for the German government in Berlin and will take up his new role on September 1st 2008 replacing Robert Liberatore who left the company in March.
The role will see Mr Jaeger responsible for the firm’s global relations with governments and other political and civil organisations and he will report to Dr Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board.
After beginning his career as a freelance journalist, he joined the German Foreign Office and held a number of posts including his role as a speech writer for the Federal Minister.
He has also been responsible for press relations for the head of the Federal Chancellery and has been in his role as a spokesman for the Foreign Office since 2005.
Dr Dieter Spoeri has been filling in the role after the departure of Mr Liberatore in March.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has received a boost ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix as Heikki Kovalainen was declared fit to race.
The Finnish driver was a doubt after crashing out of the Spanish Grand Prix but the FIA medical team gave him the all clear.
"I am obviously very pleased with the decision by the FIA medical team," Kovalainen said.
"My preparation for this weekend has gone well and we have done a lot of fitness training. Obviously a big thumbs up for all the FIA safety standards and the guys in Spain who worked hard to get me out of the car safely," he added.
Kovalainen said the accident was not as bad as it first looked and said that apart from a "little headache" he was feeling ready to train straight away.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has revealed that a new front wheel on Kovalainen’s MP4-23 failed during the race and caused the accident.
The team and the wheel supplier have established "new procedures" to ensure the problem does not reoccur.
Mercedes-Benz has achieved an overall four star rating in the latest JD Power consumer satisfaction index (CSI) achieving an 82.8 per cent score from the survey of 16,000 UK motorists.
The rating positioned the automaker sixth in the table overall, climbing from 11th last year.
JD Power’s consumer satisfaction index includes 28 brands and 100 models and owners provide detailed information about their cars which they have typically owned for about two years.
The current survey covers the period from September 2005 to August 2006.
Owners rate the manufacturers on 77 attributes grouped in four areas; quality/reliability, vehicle appeal, service and ownership cost.
With a score of 84.7 per cent those owners placed Mercedes-Benz second in the results for vehicle appeal.
In the league table of cars, Mercedes-Benz E-Class owners gave it five stars and a rating of 84.2 per cent.
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class also achieved a high score of 82.8 per cent, just above the Mercedes-Benz A-Class which scored 82.2 per cent.
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As Heikki Kovalainen prepares for his FIA fitness test ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes believes the problem that caused his crash in Spain was down to a damaged wheel rim.
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Norbert Haug, the vice president of Mercedes-Benz motorsport, said a production error could have caused the crash.
"A Formula One rim is very complicated and comprises of several different alloys. Something has apparently gone wrong," he said.
Luckily, Kovalainen escaped without serious injuries but the same could not be said for his car.
Martin Whitmarsh, the team’s chief operating officer, said that the damaged vehicle was taken back to the McLaren Technology Centre for forensic testing.
"Every part was immediately quarantined whilst the forensic analysis into the cause of the incident is completed. This is usual practice and some components may be salvaged in due course," he explained.
Kovalainen could be racing by tomorrow (Friday) if he passes the fitness test set by the FIA today.
If the medics decide he is not fit to race it is likely that the team’s testing driver, Pedro de la Rosa, is likely to step in.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars reached 119,000 units in April, an increase of 22 per cent on the same month last year.
This means that Mercedes-Benz has now delivered 437,700 vehicles since the turn of the year - a 14 per cent increase on last year’s figure.
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class continues to be a hit with customers as world-wide sales of the saloon and estate model reached 35,600 in April - a new record eclipsing April 2007 figures of 18,900.
Along with the C-Class, the A-Class and B-Class range also achieved sales growth with deliveries increasing by 18 per cent to 23,800 models.
Sales of the smart fortwo also remain strong, while it is the subject of a new advertising campaign in the UK sales worldwide in April reached 13,600 models.
Strong market performances could also be seen by the E-Class which saw its April sales increase by 25 per cent on last year’s figure.
Mercedes-Benz is sponsoring the birthday party of one of the world’s most recognisable figures.
Nelson Mandela turns 90 this year and he will arrive in London in June to take part in a series of events that mark the occasion.
Joining him along the way will be a number of famous faces including Lewis Hamilton and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.
The celebrations will culminate in a three-hour concert in Hyde Park on June 27th with famous names such as Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Will Smith and Robert de Niro among the expected attendees.
The Sugababes, who are also performing a special concert for Mercedes-Benz at Brooklands, will be singing on the night.
Proceeds from the gig will go to the 46664 Aids campaign which raises awareness about the impact of the disease.
Mercedes-Benz is one of the leading companies to support the concert along with many others to ensure the gig goes ahead.
Mandela said: "I am going to London and they will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds."
If you cannot get to Hyde Park, see the Sugababes and McFly at Mercedes-Benz World .
The Formula One season descends on Istanbul this weekend for the Turkish Grand Prix and Heikki Kovalainen is hoping to be fit for the race.
Kovalainen crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix and has been back in training in preparation for the race.
But he will have to have a fitness test with the FIA on Thursday to determine his racing credentials.
"I can’t wait to get back into the car and race with the team next weekend, but at the end of the day that decision is out of my hands, the FIA will make it based on safety grounds only," he explained.
Lewis Hamilton believes that the track has plenty of overtaking points but emphasised the importance of qualifying as well as competing alongside Kovalainen.
"I also hope to have Heikki alongside me for the race so we can get a good joint result for the team, I know he has a final check at the track on Thursday so we will have to wait and see until then," he said.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes won the inaugural race when it was added to the calendar in 2005 and the team will be hoping to do the same at the Istanbul Speed Park.
Is your team fit and ready for Turkey or do you need to make some changes?
Fans of the smart car will be seeing the two-seater appearing on new television adverts in the coming weeks.
The advertising campaign, which began this weekend, sees three new adverts show how safe, practical and environmentally-friendly the smart fortwo can be.
Viewers will see a one-tonne wrecking ball smash into a smart fortwo only for the steel safety cell to absorb the impact of the ball and leave the car with minimal damage.
The vehicle’s practicality is being shown when a tumble dryer is loaded into the back of the car showing its spacious design while the car travels from London to Edinburgh (433) miles on just one 33 litre tank of petrol.
"The ads highlight incredible facts about the car in a uniquely smart way," said Dermot Kelly, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Fans of the car can see the damage inflicted by the wrecking ball with their own eyes later this year.
"The car used in the filming of the safety advert will be on display at Mercedes-Benz World during the television campaign and the smart Festival, taking place on Saturday 21 June," Mr Kelly explained.
Jamie Green won the third round of the 2008 DTM Championship in Mugello, Italy with Paul Di Resta finishing in second place to guarantee a one-two finish for Mercedes-Benz.
Green finished 3.166 seconds ahead of Di Resta while Bernd Schneider finished the race in fourth.
The win took Green up to second place in the championship table with 17 points - just a single point behind the leader.
"The start was the key for my win," Green said after the race.
"The car was perfect and with the pit stops and the strategy our team didn’t put a foot wrong. I am proud of the team performance of Mercedes-Benz and HWA and I am happy that I could reward everybody for their hard work with my victory today," he added.
Di Resta was also pleased with his performance saying that "everything went well".
Norbert Haug, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, felt the result was a deserved victory.
"We had a good strategy, a good speed and optimum pit stops," he said.
Speaking about Green and Di Resta, Haug added: "Like Lewis Hamilton, they came from our Formula 3 junior programme and all three have been Euro Series champions."
Mercedes-Benz has delivered its 500,000th SLK since it launched in 1996.
The compact roadster attracted 310,000 customers when it first launched and its successor has now been sold 190,000 times.
Dr Klaus Maier, executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz Cars, believes the new generation of SLK roadsters are the sportiest ever.
"I’m confident that the dynamic looks and performance of the new SLK will again set pulses racing among sports cars enthusiasts around the world," he said.
The new generation was launched at the Detroit Motor Show in January and includes a redesigned front and back as well as a new interior featuring a three-spoke steering wheel and a new instrument board.
Also featured in the latest model are new innovations such as the Air Scarf system and direct-steer.
"Thanks to innovative technology such as the vario-roof and the neck-level heating system AIRSCARF, the SLK has long been recognised as a cult car of modern times," said Dr Maier.
Find out more about the Mercedes-Benz SLK by visiting our website
