BMW Group announced Oliver Zipse is stepping down as chairman effective May 14, with Dr. Milan Nedeljković taking over through 2031. Dr. Raymond Wittmann, 47, will join the board to oversee production. Zipse, 62, joined BMW in 1991 and became chairman in August 2019. During his tenure, he navigated global supply chain disruptions and led development of the Neue Klasse electric vehicle platform. Nedeljković, 57, joined as a trainee in 1993 before joining the board in 2019. The leadership change comes as BMW faces headwinds: Q1 revenue fell 8.1% to 31 billion euros ($36.3 billion), China deliveries dropped 10%, and pure EV sales declined 20.1%.
Related reading: ‘Real luxury is engaging with humanity,’ says Thomas Girst