Daimler has selected a Swedish manager who once difficult financial to attain courtesy fable Dieter Zetsche and lead a transition to electric vehicles.

The carmaker announced Wednesday that stream investigate and growth trainer Ola Källenius will turn arch executive in 2019, creation him a initial non-German to lead a owners of Mercedes Benz.

Källenius will take a reins during a scattered time for a automobile industry.

Global automakers are pouring investment dollars into a growth of electric and self-driving vehicles as they find to conduct off upstarts such as Tesla (TSLA) and Waymo, a Google (GOOGL) spinoff that is operative on unconstrained cars.

Daimler (DMLRY) faces even some-more challenges.

Sales of diesel cars have forsaken neatly in Europe since of emissions intrigue scandals and skeleton in some countries to proviso out a technology. EU regulators are also questioning either Daimler and other German automakers hold behind a growth of record that could have reduced pollution.

Daimler increase slipped 19% in a initial half of 2018 compared to a same duration final year, formula a association pinned on aloft tariffs on US vehicles exported to China. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has regularly threatened import tariffs on cars finished in Europe.

The carmaker has also captivated a courtesy of Li Shufu, a billionaire authority of Chinese automobile builder Geely, who has invested about $9 billion shopping a interest of roughly 10% in Daimler.

“It’s a hugely difficult job,” pronounced Tim Urquhart, principal automotive researcher during IHS Markit. “There are vital hurdles confronting a whole industry, outrageous pressures from a record companies entrance in, and also a ongoing pierce brazen towards foundation and autonomy.”

Daimler announced a restructuring devise progressing this year called “Project Future” that is designed to make a association some-more stretchable and urge a concentration on connected vehicles and unconstrained driving. It has also shaped a partnership with Chinese tech association Baidu (BIDU).

Other German carmakers are also creation a shift. Volkswagen for instance has committed to spending some-more than €50 billion ($59 billion) on battery cells as it pushes to electrify all 300 models in a operation by 2030.

Källenius, who assimilated Daimler in 1993 and has spent his whole career during a carmaker, has prolonged been noticed as a intensity inheritor to Zetsche.

“We are creation a [management] younger and so giving it new impetus,” Michael Brecht, a emissary authority of Daimler’s board, pronounced in a statement.

Urquhart pronounced that Källenius had been “bred” for a pursuit and that it was “hard to consider about anyone improved suited.”

“He is closer to a age of a younger demographics that Daimler is increasingly targeting and he has been opposite a biggest technological advances in a courtesy in his prior role,” he added.

Zetsche’s depart as CEO outlines a finish of an epoch during Daimler. The mustachioed executive, best famous in a United States as a “Dr. Z” once featured in Chrysler commercials, has led a carmaker for 12 years.

“He had this large idea of overtaking BMW as a world’s largest reward carmaker by sales by reestablishing a brand, and that’s what he has done,” Urquhart said.

Daimler pronounced it would ask shareholders to make Zetsche authority of a Supervisory Board starting in 2021, where he will continue to swing influence.

“In several positions during Daimler, Ola Källenius has warranted not usually my respect, though also a approval of his colleagues in really different areas,” Zetsche pronounced in a statement.

Shares in Daimler were small altered on Wednesday.