UPDATE 3/14/13: Schwarzenbauer, 53, has now been hired as a BMW board member in charge of Mini, Rolls-Royce, BMW motorcycles and group aftersales.
The sales war posturing between BMW and its German competitors continues.
Bloomberg reports that BMW has plans to hire Peter Schwarzenbauer, the former Audi AG sales chief. The report has Schwarzenbauer joining BMW next month, in a top level management position which will report directly to BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer.
This move comes during a period of all out sales battles between BMW, Audi and Mercedes, each seemingly intent on capturing the top sales crown each month (and year). BMW
recently regained the top spot in global luxury auto sales from Audi last month.
BMW was able to secure the top spot on
strong sales figures from increased demand for the 3 Series and X1. BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said in Geneva this week that the carmaker's factories are running at full capacity to keep up with customer demand. Sales of the X1 SUV through February gained 40 percent, while the 3 series climbed 26 percent.
More on Schwarzenbauer and his planned hiring:
Quote:
Schwarzenbauer, Audi’s sales chief for more than four years, led the brand’s expansion by raising its U.S. presence, boosting sales in China and gaining market share in Europe. He left in August as part of a broader management reshuffle by parent Volkswagen AG. (VOW)
“He’s certainly a distinguished guy and lots speaks for his talent,” said Juergen Pieper, an analyst with Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt who recommends selling BMW shares. “Audi was riding a growth wave” during his tenure as sales chief.
In Schwarzenbauer’s first year on the job in 2008, Audi crossed the threshold of 1 million in car sales. The brand’s deliveries rose to a record 1.46 million vehicles in 2012.
BMW Reshuffle
Audi reported 2.77 billion euros (3.61 billion euros) in operating profit and a return on sales of 8.1 percent in the year he joined. Operating profit last year surged to 5.38 billion euros, with an 11 percent operating margin, making Audi one of the world’s most profitable carmakers. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler reiterated yesterday his plan to dethrone BMW from the top spot in deliveries by the end of the decade.
BMW last March appointed Milagros Caina-Andree as its first female management board member, with responsibility for personnel. The appointment expanded the board to eight. Harald Krueger, who was personnel chief, took on a new role overseeing sales and product lines of the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands as well as BMW’s motorcycle unit.
Board members Klaus Draeger and Herbert Diess also swapped jobs as part of the reorganization, with Draeger taking over purchasing and Diess overseeing development.
Audi Departure
Schwarzenbauer left Audi, the largest earnings contributor at VW, in the wake of the management revamp. The reshuffle last year also triggered the departure of VW’s former China chief Karl-Thomas Neumann, who became CEO at General Motors Co.’s (GM) Opel unit earlier this month, and Audi’s former head of research and development Michael Dick.
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn told reporters last June during a press conference in Stuttgart that Schwarzenbauer would leave Audi, without elaborating on the reason for his departure.
The 53-year-old auto executive was born in the Bavarian city of Weissenburg, Germany, and went to high school in Munich and Nova Friburgo, Brazil. After studying business administration at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, he joined BMW in 1984 and held several positions within the marketing and sales department.
He left BMW to join Porsche AG in 1994 and became CEO of the Stuttgart, Germany-based sports-car maker’s North American division in 2003. Five years later, he took over the management board position responsible for sales and marketing at Audi.
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