Former Mercedes CTO joins Aussie auto tech company Doftek

Doftek, an Australian automotive technology company specialising in active wheel alignment systems, has appointed former Mercedes-AMG executive Jochen Hermann to its Advisory Board.

The announcement follows a period of rapid product development for Doftek, deploying its Active Wheel Alignment (AWA) systems across multiple prototype vehicles for testing by global carmakers.

Hermann brings 30 years of automotive industry experience, primarily gained at Mercedes-Benz Group in Germany where he rose to become Chief Technical Officer and board member at Mercedes-AMG. He oversaw the development of the company’s global electric drivetrains and vehicle platforms, and was instrumental in creating the AMG GT performance vehicle lineup.

His crowning achievement was developing the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar, a street-legal vehicle with a Formula 1-derived engine that recently became the first production car to post a sub-6:30 minute lap time at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

“The challenge for a vehicle engineer is to manage the trade-off between performance, emissions or battery range, and safety. Doftek’s technology addresses this challenge,” Hermann said.

He discovered Doftek after being tasked with finding an active wheel alignment system for future vehicles. “A few weeks [after the search began] the team returned with exciting news: they had discovered an Australian company that not only developed a solution but had also successfully integrated it into one of their own AMG vehicles.”

Doftek founder Dr Geoff Rogers said Hermann’s appointment “unlocks major opportunities” as the company accelerates towards series production with carmakers.

The company’s AWA technology can control camber, castor and toe on all four wheels in real-time while driving, optimising tyre contact with the road surface even during high-performance driving. Testing has demonstrated significant reductions in lap times, ABS stopping distances, and rolling resistance.

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