Effective Nov. 1, 2013, Jörg Zürn will become Head of Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Vans. He will succeed Dr. Sascha Paasche, who will be retiring on January 1, 2014, after 25 years of service to Daimler.

After holding various positions in Daimler’s research and development units, Paasche switched to the commercial vehicles segment in 1998, when he was appointed Head of Mechatronics at Mercedes-Benz Trucks. From 2005 to 2008, he was Head of Engineering at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. (MFTBC) in Japan. Paasche has been Head of Van Engineering since January 2008. During this time, he and his team have played a key role in further enhancing the company’s family of vans. For example, Paasche was responsible for updating the Vito/Viano, creating the new Sprinter, and developing the Citan.

“I would like to thank Sascha Paasche very much for his outstanding achievements during the years he has served as Head of Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Vans. I wish him all the best for his new period of life,” says Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Zürn has worked at Daimler since 1984. From 2003 to 2005, he was responsible for Engineering and Procurement at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC). Since the end of 2005, Zürn has been responsible for Truck Product Engineering Heavy Duty/Medium Duty Cab over Engine at Mercedes-Benz. In his position as Chief Engineer, he was most recently responsible for the new Actros, Antos, and Arocs heavy-duty trucks.

Volker Mornhinweg had the following to say regarding the appointment of Jörg Zürn to the position of Head of Van Engineering: “I’m pleased to have Jörg Zürn, a proven expert in commercial vehicle development, on our team. I wish him great success in his new position as Head of Engineering Mercedes-Benz Vans.”

Zürn will be succeeded at Truck Product Engineering by Dr. Uwe Baake, who has worked at Daimler since 1995. During his time at the company, Baake has worked in a variety of units, including Product Engineering at Daimler Buses. For the last almost six years Baake worked in the field of truck engineering responsible for the competence centre Computer Aided Engineering commercial vehicles.