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BMW management reshuffle

December 9, 2014

German premium carmaker BMW has announced an earlier-than-planned executive reshuffle at the helm of the company. CEO Norbert Reithofer will be replaced as early as May of next year.

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BMW chief Norbert Reithofer
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Longstanding BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer will give up his post in May next year, well ahead of his contract's expiry date in 2016, the Munich-based auto maker announced after an executive meeting Tuesday.

The company said Reithofer would move to the top of the supervisory board, while production executive Harald Krüger would become the firm's new chairman.

The surprise announcement followed weeks of speculation after Reithofer had signaled his resolve to become a supervisory board member at engineering giant Siemens.

BMW also said another senior executive, Herbert Diess, currently head of development at the luxury car maker, would jump ship to Volkswagen to head its VW brand.

New tasks ahead

Reithofer has been at the helm of BMW since 2006 and helped the company become more competitive and profitable. The auto maker aims to sell more than 2 million units this year which would mark an all-time annual record for the firm.

While third-quarter revenue experienced a boost, bottom-line profit dipped by 1.2 percent to total 1.314 billion euros (1.622 billion) in the same three months as the situation on the domestic market and elsewhere in Europe remained tense.

Going Electric - Fated to Fail?

Under its new CEO, BMW will continue shifting toward smaller models, helping the company to meet European CO2 emission targets but narrowing per-unit profit margins.

hg/cjc (dpa, Reuters)