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BMW Research and Development Chief Makes Surprise Move to Volkswagen

Yesterday an earthquake hit the BMW management team, the board making some really interesting decisions. Apart from the departure of Norbert Reithofer from the position of CEO to Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Herbert Diess also announced that he will be leaving BMW.
Herbert Diess 1 photo
Photo: Bimmertoday
At first, we didn’t know what to make of his decision, since he was a very appreciated member of the team and has been leading the research and development department for quite some time now. However, now it all makes sense as Volkswagen announced that he will be taking over from Martin Winterkorn as head of the Volkswagen brand starting with October 1, 2015.

That also means that Winterkorn will be taking up a position as CEO of the entire Volkswagen Group, overseeing the other brands as well, including Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and so on, just to name a few (the entire list of brands owned by VW also includes Bentley, Bugatti, Seat, Skoda, Ducati, Scania and MAN).

For some people, this move wouldn’t seem all that surprising but for those involved in the industry it’s truly an earthquake as we said before. That’s because Diess was rumored to be number one on the list of possible names that would replace Reithofer at the head of BMW. However, all that changed yesterday, when Harald Kruger was announced as his successor.

BMW’s team is now comprised of other names as well that will have to find a place somewhere. Ferrari’s ex chief-engineer joined in earlier this year and so did ex Audi quattro chief, Franciscus van Meel. Both moves have been connected to a possible future supercar with all-wheel drive to be developed by the Munich-based company.
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