MERCEDES-BENZ Australia/Pacific (MBAP) CEO Florian Seidler is moving on from the role and returning to Germany after accepting the position of head of sales operations for Mercedes-Benz Cars Europe and Smart.

Mr Seidler will begin this new role at the start of next year and his successor will be announced closer to that time.

“Florian Seidler will take over the responsibility as head of sales operations Mercedes-Benz Cars Europe and Smart in 2024,” Mercedes-Benz Cars Australia head of media relations Jerry Stamoulis confirmed to GoAuto.

A German native, Mr Seidler joined the Mercedes-Benz Group in 2006, serving as the CEO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa from 2012 to 2017.

Florian Seidler

He then served as the head of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars region overseas before replacing Horst von Sanden as Australian managing director and CEO at the beginning of 2021.

During his tenure, Mr Seidler oversaw the transition of the local Mercedes-Benz Cars operation to an agency sales model, a controversial move that has coincided with a continued sales slip for the brand that in year-to-date terms sees it down 14.2 per cent (against September 2022).

To the end of September 2023, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific delivered 18,490 passenger cars and SUVs, well below the 2017 high water mark of 37,068 units achieved under the stewardship of Mr von Sanden.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific won a landmark court case against 38 of its dealers that alleged the importer had cost them $680 million in lost goodwill caused by the introduction of the agency retail model to their business.

Speaking on the decision handed down by Justice Jonathan Beach, MBAP said: “We welcome the court’s decision. Our focus continues to be on delivering luxury, high performance cars for our valued customers around Australia”.