Daimler to pick new trucks chief within days: sources

DAIMLER-RESULTS

Daimler will pick a new head for its truck operations in the coming days, sources close to the matter said, as the manufacturer aims to avoid a lengthy search for a successor to departed chief Wolfgang Bernhard.

Bernhard, once seen as a candidate to succeed Daimler Chief Executive Diete Zetsche, stepped down a year before his contract was due to expire, the carmaker said this month.

Stuttgart-based Daimler aims to decide on a successor to Bernhard before auto executives start gathering in Geneva next Monday for the city's annual auto show, one of the sources said.

The succession void left by the departure of Bernhard, who started working at Daimler in 1994 and moved through the ranks to top management, will be resolved soon, a second source said.

Daimler declined to comment.

Industry publication Automobilwoche reported earlier on Monday that Daimler's supervisory board would appoint a new head of trucks operations this week. It named Hubertus Troska, head of Daimler's China business, vans chief Volker Mornhinweg and Marc Llistosella, leader of truck operations in Asia, as the most promising candidates.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor and Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by David Goodman)