FRANKFURT -- Veteran Daimler executive Karen Adt will become head of the Smart brand, succeeding Annette Winkler, who will step down on Sept. 30.
Adt, 46, has years of international experience in various management positions in sales and human resources that will help her steer Smart into a successful future, Daimler's sales chief, Britta Seeger, said in .
Adt first worked for Daimler between 1999 and 2013, holding various management positions in sales including responsibility for Smart's worldwide sales management and head of the Luxembourg sales organization. After a stint at a human resources consultancy, she returned to Daimler in 2014 as human resources vice president.
Winkler, 58, said last month that she will step down after eight years as head of the automaker's microcar brand.
Global sales of Smart cars fell 8.5 percent to 52,463 through May, Daimler said in a news release earlier this month.
Daimler is turning Smart, which sells the ForTwo globally and the ForFour in Europe, into an electric urban-mobility brand. By 2020, Smart will sell only full-electric cars in Europe and North America, with other regions to follow later.
Global sales of Smart cars fell 8.5 percent to 52,463 through May, Daimler said in a news release earlier this month.
Daimler is turning Smart, which sells the ForTwo globally and the ForFour in Europe, into an electric urban-mobility brand. By 2020, Smart will sell only full-electric cars in Europe and North America, with other regions to follow later.