Chennai, Aug 29 (IANS): Santosh Iyer, currently the Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India, will become the first Indian to head the luxury car maker's India operations as its Managing Director and CEO from January 1, 2023, the company said.

On the same day, incumbent Martin Schwenk will assume charge as the President and Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz Thailand.

Associated with Mercedes-Benz India since 2009, Iyer, 46, has been in leadership roles across diverse functions including sales, marketing, customer services, internal communications, and CRM.

"Iyer is the first Indian to head Mercedes-Benz India," a senior company official told IANS.

In 2016, he began as Vice President, Customer Services and Retail Training business.

Iyer took over as the Vice President, Sales and Marketing in July 2019, and led Mercedes-Benz's digital transformation of business and achieved the highest ever-online sales penetration.

He also laid a strong foundation for Data Analytics and pioneered online sales with its share exceeding 15 per cent of total sales.

A graduate in commerce from Mumbai University, Iyer is a MBA from University of Indianapolis and holds a Masters in Corporate Governance and Compliance from the University of Lake Konstanz, Germany.

In the last four years under the leadership of Schwenk, Mercedes-Benz India strengthened its position as the leader in the luxury car segment in the country, achieving the highest market share.