After four years as BMW CEO, Harald Krueger intends to step down without seeking an extension to his contract with the company, which expires in April 2020. The issue of a successor to the 53-year-old Krueger will be considered by the board of directors at its next meeting, which is scheduled for July 18.
In recent years, the Munich-based company has faced serious pressure affecting the automotive industry. First of all, it is worth noting the high costs of developing cars that meet strict emissions standards in Europe and China. In addition, the company is investing heavily in the development of autonomous vehicles, trying to compete with other participants in the segment like Waymo and Uber.
In 2013, the BMW i3 electric car was launched, which became one of the first on the market. However, further development of the direction was not very fast, since the company decided to concentrate on the production of hybrid cars that combine an internal combustion engine and an electric power plant. At this time, Tesla’s active actions allowed the American company to occupy one of the leading positions in sales of premium electric cars.
According to Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Kruger, who became head of BMW in 2015, was “too cautious.” Dudenhoeffer also noted that the company was unable to use its existing advantage to introduce a new generation of electric vehicles to the market.
Source: 3dnews.ru