Daimler (DAIGn.DE) plans to appoint Mercedes sales chief Ola Kaellenius to its management board as the German carmaker lines up potential candidates to succeed chief executive Dieter Zetsche, Bilanz magazine reported on Wednesday.

Kaellenius, 45, could be nominated by the supervisory board in January, the magazine said without citing the source of the information.

Such a step would restore Daimler's management board to eight members almost a year after Andreas Renschler, formerly head of production at Mercedes, quit the luxury car and truck maker.

Stuttgart-based Daimler declined to comment.

The company's supervisory board last year extended the contract of Zetsche, 61, by three years until Dec. 31, 2016. Chairman Manfred Bischoff is seeking to rejuvenate the carmaker's management board, Bilanz said.

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