Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has a new COO: Kevin Barbian replaces Nadia Trimmel

KUALA LUMPUR: There is a new person running the car side of Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia. Kevin Barbian became Chief Operating Officer of Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia on 1 September 2026, taking over from Nadia Trimmel, who heads to the UK as Sales Director for Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Trimmel has been with the group since 2014, when she joined Mercedes-Benz South Africa as National Sales Manager for the van business. She was made Managing Director there in 2017, and the company credits her with widening the product range and pushing through changes to how that business dealt with customers.

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She arrived in Malaysia in 2024 as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Her time here was largely about two things: the working relationship with the retail network, and keeping the Retail of the Future programme moving.

That is the agency model Mercedes-Benz Malaysia switched to in 2023, making Malaysia the 10th market globally and the first in Southeast Asia to do it.

In plain terms, Malaysian buyers now purchase directly from Mercedes-Benz Malaysia at one fixed price rather than shopping dealers against each other.

Her sign-off:

"My time in Malaysia has been an immensely rewarding experience, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together. From my team and colleagues to our retail partners, customers, and stakeholders, the passion, commitment, and resilience of those around me have made this chapter truly meaningful. I would like to thank everyone who has been part of this journey and extend a warm welcome to Kevin. Under his leadership, I am confident the business will build on its strong momentum and reach even greater heights in the years ahead."
Nadia Trimmel, outgoing COO, Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia

Who Kevin Barbian is

"Malaysia is an important and dynamic market for Mercedes-Benz, with tremendous potential for continued growth and innovation. I look forward to building on the strong momentum of the business and working alongside our talented team and retail network to further enhance the customer journey. Our focus remains on delivering desirable products, seamless experiences, and meaningful value to our customers."
Kevin Barbian, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia

Barbian started with Mercedes-Benz in 2011 as a business development consultant, then moved into commercial telematics and B2B services. In 2016 he set up Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services GmbH and ran its sales and marketing.

Most of the last decade has been IT and digital transformation work. As Digital Lead for Mercedes-EQ he worked on over-the-air updates and on-demand functions, the sort of features you now pay for after you have already bought the car. After that he built up the Digital, Data and AI unit inside IT Customer Services across several international hubs.

The relevant bit for Malaysia is his most recent job. Barbian ran the Retail of the Future programme in Europe, implementing it in Germany and rolling it out to other markets. 

Barbian walks into a market that is getting harder rather than easier. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia's electric line-up is expanding quickly, with the S-Class facelift and the electric GLC already open for pre-booking, the latter estimated between RM370,000 and RM400,000.

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