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BMW names new CEO, chairman and head of development

Big changes are afoot in the top ranks at BMW, as the Bavarian automaker has announced not just one, but several appointments in the top floors of its towering headquarters in Munich in what the company itself is referring as "a generational change" in its leadership. The biggest change relates to the chairman of BMW's management board – German-speak for the company's chief executive officer. Effective at the end of the company's Annual General Meeting on May 13, 2015, the company will be run by Harald Kruger. The 49-year-old mechanical engineer has been with BMW since 1992 and has sat on its board since 2008, and has until now been responsible for production for the entire BMW Group. The chairmanship of the board of management currently belongs to Dr. Norbert Reithofer, whom the management is endorsing to chair the supervisory board (which Americans might call the board of directors). That role in turn is currently held by Professor Joachim Milberg, who will step down from his position in order to make way for Reithofer to take his place. Milberg is earmarked to remain with the company to oversee its corporate social responsibility and charitable activities. BMW has also announced the appointment of Klaus Frohlich to serve as its head of development with immediate effect. In his new capacity, Frohlich replaces Dr. Herbert Diess, who in turn has left Munich to take over the Volkswagen passenger car division. Below you'll find statements from both BMW and VW on their new appointments. BMW Group takes steps to initiate a generational change at the head of the Board of Management and Supervisory Board 09.12.2014 - Harald Kruger to become Chairman of the Board of Management in May 2015 - Dr. Norbert Reithofer proposed to succeed as Chairman of the Supervisory Board - Prof. Joachim Milberg to take leading role in the BMW Group's worldwide CSR activities and charitable foundations - Klaus Frohlich appointed to Board of Management with responsibility for Development Munich . At its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of BMW AG took the first steps to initiate a generational change at the head of the company's Board of Management and Supervisory Board. Harald Kruger will become Chairman of the Board of Management effective the end of the Annual General Meeting on 13 May 2015. The current Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, will be put forward for election to the Supervisory Board at the 2015 Annual General Meeting.

BMW seeks partners for electric Mini, could make it an all-EV brand

LOS ANGELES — Germany's BMW is talking with other automakers "around the world" to try to find partners to lower the cost of electrifying its future Mini small cars, management board member Peter Schwarzenbauer told Reuters. "We are talking to many OEMs (manufacturers) around the world, not only in China, (about) how to electrify smaller cars," Schwarzenbauer said. "There's no final conclusion on it." Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor said last month it was discussing a possible venture to build Mini vehicles in China. BMW currently does not build Mini vehicles outside Europe. Schwarzenbauer declined to discuss the Great Wall situation, saying "this was speculation." However, he said building smaller electric cars was challenging, not only because of the financial costs, but also the engineering problem of fitting batteries with sufficient range into a smaller vehicle package. BMW has worked with rivals before to share the costs of clean vehicle technology. The automaker has a partnership with Toyota to develop fuel cell vehicles. BMW has said it plans to launch a new, electric Mini model in 2019. Eventually, Mini could become an entirely electric brand aimed at urban consumers, Schwarzenbauer said. Mini sales in the United States have fallen 10 percent through the first 10 months of this year, as demand for many smaller cars has waned in favor of sport-utility vehicles and trucks. "It's really only in the U.S. where we are facing this with Mini," Schwarzenbauer said. BMW will not try to reverse that trend by adding larger SUVs to the Mini lineup, Schwarzenbauer said. Instead, he said, "the way for Mini in the U.S. is ... building the Mini brand in the direction of the electric urban mobility company." On a separate issue, Schwarzenbauer said BMW intended to offer a self-driving car planned to debut in 2021 at a price that could be below $100,000. The iNEXT model, which BMW previewed earlier this year, will be offered to individuals, ride services fleets and put into service in BMW fleets, Schwarzenbauer said. "By 2021, you will have a lot of people who want to own this car," he said. "It will be a normal price. We are thinking of scaling this. To bring a $150,000 electric car is nice, but it will not really scale." When it launches, the iNEXT may not be offered with complete, so-called Level 5, autonomy because the regulatory and legal frameworks for such a vehicle likely won't be in place, Schwarzenbauer said.

BMW M235i Racing restores our faith in 'M'

Based on the upcoming BMW 2 Series and aimed at amateur and semi-professional racers, the 2014 BMW M235i Racing is a stripped-down, race-spec coupe ready to take on the Nürburgring in the VLN Endurance Championship race series against cars from Audi, Porsche and Toyota.
Obvious in the image above (click to enlarge), BMW has given the M235i Racing the wide-body treatment with a track that has been stretched by 3.5 inches. Under the hood, the 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder receives a power boost from a stock 322 horsepower up slightly to 333 hp, while other modifications include a full FIA roll cage, a racing fuel tank and a limited slip rear differential.
The M235i Racing replaces the M3 GT4 as BMW's factory racer, and it will be priced at 59,500 euros (close to $80,000), which is about as affordable as a factory-prepped racecar can get. The full press release is posted below, but we can't wait to see this car in action next year.