Mercedes Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) has appointed Manu Saale as the new head.
Saale, who has taken over from Jens Cattarius, is a native of Bangalore native, who has been working with the company since 2011. He also has the task of growing revenues to 58 per cent this fiscal year from the existing 43 per cent.
To achieve this growth, the R&D arm plans to increase its headcount to 2,000 from the existing 1,400 employees.
“We plan to hire a mix of fresh graduates and lateral hires," Saale told
While the centre will work on areas such as automotive technologies and managing the IT infrastructure for the parent Daimler, the focus will be in the area of digital technology-related work inside a vehicle, developing roadside assistance technologies and other such technologies.
“This centre will work on new methods and processes, which will help Daimler to bring newer vehicles faster to the market," said Saale.
New methods such as providing simulation involved in building a vehicle modelling using software that goes beyond existing CAD/CAM software work are areas that Saale would focus on, something that Thomas Weber, Member of the Board, Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, Daimler, has laid out as a part of his vision.
He, however, did not provide details on how quickly the India development centre will aid in bringing these vehicles faster to the market.