Mercedes replaces U.S. sales boss as business stalls

ATLANTA — Mercedes-Benz has tapped a more than 20-year company veteran to lead its key U.S. market out of a post-pandemic funk.

Bart Herring will take over as vice president of sales and product at Mercedes-Benz USA effective Aug. 1, four people with knowledge of the move told Automotive News.

Herring, 54, an Auburn University graduate and 2015 Automotive News Rising Star, currently oversees sales and product in Mercedes' Canada market. The executive has held several sales and product planning roles, mostly in the U.S., in his decades with the German luxury automaker. Herring could not be reached for comment.

According to a retailer memo obtained by Automotive News, Herring will be responsible for "driving new and used vehicle sales performance" and work in "close collaboration" with Mercedes retailers. Herring also will lead the product team "driving our EV, PHEV & ICE portfolio towards an exciting and sustainable future," the memo said.

Herring replaces Senol Bayrak, who will take over as director of sales operations for Mercedes-Benz Cars in Germany effective Sept. 1. Mercedes on Thursday confirmed the executive changes. Bayrak took the top U.S. sales job in late 2021, following tours of duty with Mercedes in China and Germany.

Under his watch, Mercedes — the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. from 2016 through 2018 — has ceded market share to rival BMW and a surging Lexus.

Herring, a certified public accountant, joined Mercedes-Benz Financial as a financial analyst in 1998. He moved to Mercedes-Benz USA two years later and then spent eight years in product management.

In 2016, Herring was elevated to U.S. sales manager, overseeing the development and implementation of policies, programs and activities in support of new-vehicle sales and objectives.

With deep U.S. experience, Herring might be the right leader for Mercedes in a challenging market, one dealer said.

"Bart knows the lay of the land and the product extremely well," said the dealer, who asked not to be identified speaking about internal matters. "We need a professional with expertise who can move the ball."

One of Herring's near-term challenges will be driving demand for Mercedes' electric vehicles.

In recent years, the automaker pushed its high-priced, jellybean-shaped EVs. But consumers have responded coolly, saddling Mercedes retailers with high inventory and floorplan expenses.

Mercedes' U.S. EV deliveries sank 36 percent to 5,448 in the second quarter. Sales plunged 57 percent for the EQS and 47 percent for the EQE, though the EQB nearly doubled.

Herring "needs to put his shoulder into" fixing the EV strategy, the dealer said.

"We've got to figure out how to move these cars and do it in a way where dealers are not taking a haircut alone," they said. "There's got to be some shared pain."

Herring brings U.S. institutional knowledge to a C-suite populated with transplants.

MBUSA is on its second new CEO since 2019. The operation has seen turnover in other leadership roles, including sales, marketing, finance and customer service.

"That instability has created fractured relations with dealers," the retailer said. "Having someone who is tenured — who's got institutional knowledge — can only be a positive."

Retailers, many of whom worked with Herring while he climbed the corporate ladder, are hopeful he will advocate for them in the boardroom.

"He'll bring a huge lift to dealer attitude toward the manufacturer because he's a known entity, a proven entity," the dealer said. "He can bring the network's pain points to the boardroom table and bridge the gap that causes us to be as fractured as we are."