Fomer Mercedes manager hired to manage Maxus business in Germany

The SAIC commercial vehicle subsidiary Maxus is reorganising its management in Europe. At the centre of the restructuring is Utz Rachner, who most recently worked at Quantron and before that, at Mercedes for many years. The exact responsibilities of the manager are still unclear.

Rachner has been working for Maxus since July. As the German publication Automobilwoche writes, the company is said to have confirmed in social media posts that Rachner started as Country Manager Germany at Saic Maxus Europe – i.e. as Head of Germany. However, Rachner himself has posted on LinkedIn that he works as a ‘Senior Advisor’ – which is also listed on his CV.

Rachner is ideally suited for both an operational role and a consulting job: Most recently, he spent two years expanding international sales at Quantron – in the rank of Global Sales Director. Prior to that, he worked at Mercedes-Benz Vans for many years, most recently as Head of Sales and Marketing Van Overseas. He therefore has plenty of experience in sales of light and heavy commercial vehicles, including those with electric drives.

However, his role could soon extend beyond the German market: Automobilwoche claims to have learnt from dealer circles that Rachner is to head up the entire European business in future. Clemens Damschen, who held this position for seven years and accompanied Maxus’ entry into the European market, is said to have left the company – although Damschen still lists SAIC Europe as his employer on LinkedIn. SAIC did not wish to comment on the information.

SAIC is working with Maxomotive Deutschland GmbH as the importer for Maxus sales in Germany. In 2023, Maxus achieved just under 3,000 new van registrations. The original plan was to focus solely on electric vans, but combustion models are now also offered. However, there were also reports of unavailable vehicles and, above all, spare parts, which meant that vans were often parked in the workshop for a long time – and could not be used by their owners. This has led to growing dissatisfaction not only among customers, but also among dealers.

In recent years, Maxus has steadily expanded its model range. There are now electric vans of various sizes – from the eDeliver3 to the large eDeliver9. In addition, Maxus now also offers an electric SUV in the form of the Euniq 6.

automobilwoche.de, linkedin.com