Lance Bennett, General Manager and Company Director, Mercedes-Benz New Zealand, responsible for VP Sales, Marketing, and After Sales Support for Passenger cars, will be appointed as the Vice President, Sales, and Marketing, Mercedes- Benz India, from February 1, 2023. Lance succeeds Santosh Iyer, who is elevated as the Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, from January 1, 2023, the company said in a media release.
Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO, of Mercedes-Benz India, said, “We are excited to welcome Lance Bennett to Mercedes- Benz India. Lance has successfully grown the Mercedes-AMG business in New Zealand and has rich experience across finance, sales, operations and product management functions. He instigated the implementation of Retail of the Future in New Zealand. We are confident that Lance with his international market experience and proven record of driving customer excellence, will continue the growth momentum of Mercedes-Benz in India. I thank both Santosh and Lance for their valuable contribution to the brand in respective markets and wish them the very best for their new roles.
As General Manager of Mercedes-Benz New Zealand, Lance accomplished outstanding success in growing Mercedes-AMG high-performance vehicle range. He also launched Mercedes-EQ range of vehicles, growing the segment significantly in New Zealand over the last two years. During 2021-22, Lance also handled the implementation of Mercedes-Benz’s Direct-to-Consumer business model, which focuses on providing an exceptional customer experience via transparent pricing, access to a national stock pool of vehicles, and offering the capability to purchase vehicles online. This new business model, just like in India, has redefined the way luxury vehicles are purchased in New Zealand.
