Holger Scherr leaves Daimler Truck for SuperPanther
Chinese e-truck manufacturer SuperPanther has appointed Dr. Holger Scherr to its European management team. Scherr will serve as Executive Vice President Europe, overseeing the establishment and expansion of the company's European operations. The appointment is a coup for SuperPanther, as Scherr joins the startup from Daimler Truck.
Image: SuperPanther
According to his new employer, Scherr brings decades of leadership experience in the commercial vehicle industry, “including over 20 years […] at Daimler and Daimler Truck”. At SuperPanther, he will now work closely with Dr Michael Ruf, SuperPanther’s President for Europe. His explicit task is to develop the company’s European business.
Scherr has recently been heavily involved with China – specifically as the head of a Daimler Truck joint venture. In 2021, the manager took on the role of President and CEO of Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co Ltd and was most recently a member of the Executive Committee of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. According to Scherr’s LinkedIn profile, his more than 20-year career at Daimler and Daimler Truck ended in April 2026. With today’s announcement, his next stop is clear: SuperPanther.
The Chinese electric truck manufacturer highlights the new top manager’s leadership qualities and expertise in vehicle development, global logistics, supply chain management, and business operations. It emphasises: “Scherr led the establishment and localisation of the Mercedes-Benz truck business in China, played a central leadership role in the Actros development programme, and was responsible for the Zetros development programme.”
The move comes at a time when SuperPanther is transitioning from pilot operations to series production. Alongside China, Europe is SuperPanther’s first market. The company itself is just over four years old. The eTopas 600 has been in series production at Steyr Automotive in Austria since July 2026. Since this summer, the first series vehicles have also been delivered to customers, including DHL Freight, while orders from Hugelshofer and Gartner (DE) have been made public. By the end of 2026, SuperPanther plans to deliver around 100 vehicles to European customers, and by the end of 2027, a total of 1,000. For maintenance and spare parts, the company works with service partner Alltrucks and operates two spare parts warehouses in the EU.
“Customer operations show that the eTopas 600 works very well in Europe. The key now is to build production, service, and sales in a way that keeps pace with growth,” emphasises Dr Michael Ruf, President for Europe. “We are very pleased that Dr Holger Scherr is joining the team at SuperPanther. He knows this task from the practice of major commercial vehicle manufacturers, from building new markets to achieving series maturity. With his experience, we are strengthening our ambition to establish a firm position in Europe.”
At the IAA Transportation, SuperPanther presented its electric tractor unit to a large European audience for the first time. On this occasion, we spoke with Frank Schulz, Head of European Sales, about the first customer deployments, consumption figures, Dual-CCS as a bridge to MCS, and the planned ramp-up to several hundred vehicles. His assessment of the economic viability of electric trucks is particularly bold. Watch the video interview here.
_Source: Information via email_, superpanther.eu, linkedin.com