The owner of Mercedes-Benz Daimler gets his first non-German boss

Daimler, the German automaker owner of Mercedes-Benz, will be headed by a non-German for the first time next year.

Dieter Zetsche, 65, will be replaced by Ola Kaellenius, a 49-year-old Swede, as general manager in a succession plan announced on Wednesday.

Movements come as Daimler and the German auto industry grapple with the consequences of the deception scandal on diesel emissions.

Mr. Zetsche will be leaving his post since 2006 at the end of 2019.

He will become president from 2021 if the shareholders of Daimler give their agreement.

Daimler Chairman Manfred Boschoff said that Zetsche's appointment to the presidency would ensure "the continuity of Daimler's lasting success," adding, "At Ola Kaellenius, we appoint a recognized, experienced and international Daimler leader."

The Swede, who oversees Daimler's research and development division, has been working for the company since 1993 and has worked in its UK and US operations, as well as at the Stuttgart headquarters.

Shares of Daimler fell 1.8% in Frankfurt after the announcement.

• Car manufacturers face a diesel emissions probe
• Daimler runs to track driverless cars

Last week it became clear that Daimler and German automakers BMW and Volkswagen would face an EU investigation for allegedly conspiring to restrict diesel emission treatment systems.

The European Commission said it was seeking to determine whether it agreed to limit the development of systems to reduce harmful emissions.

The announcement followed raids of corporate offices last year.

In June, the company warned that this year's profits would be slightly lower than expected due to trade tensions between the United States and China.

It also charged the cost of the recall of nearly 800,000 cars in Europe that have been equipped with software masking emissions.