Dr Dieter Zetsche, head of the Mercedes Group, will assume the role of chairman of the board of management at DaimlerChrysler on January 1.

The respective departments will be combined due to the extension of his responsibilities.

Zetsche will continue to be supported by the team for global communications Mercedes Car Group, lead by Johannes Reifenrath. In his team, Marc Binder, responsible for global business communications Mercedes Car Group, will also take over the direct support of the chairman of the board. In this role, he will report to Hartmut Schick, head of global communications DaimlerChrysler.

All other responsibilities will be unaffected by the new responsibilities.