BMW has named Oliver Zipse as its new CEO.
The company is hoping the "decisive" company lifer will help the car maker regain its edge in electric cars and win back the premium market lead lost to Mercedes-Benz under his consensus-seeking predecessor.
Mr Zipse, 55, joined BMW as a trainee in 1991 and served as head of brand and product strategies and boss of BMW's Oxford plant in England before becoming board member for production.
The German company said he would become chief executive on August 16, taking the helm during a major industry shift towards electric and self-driving cars and amid new competition from technology giants.
"With Oliver Zipse, a decisive strategic and analytical leader will assume the Chair of the Board of Management of BMW. He will provide the BMW Group with fresh momentum in shaping the mobility of the future," said Nobert Reithofer, chairman of BMW's supervisory board.
Under current CEO Harald Krueger's leadership, BMW was overtaken in 2016 by Mercedes-Benz as the best-selling luxury car brand and ceded ground to startup rival Tesla in premium electric cars.
BMW had an early lead in premium electric vehicles but throttled back its ambitions after the i3, an expensive city car, failed to sell in large numbers, allowing Tesla to overtake BMW in electric car sales.
Mr Krueger, 53, will resign as CEO and will leave the management board by mutual agreement on August 15, BMW said.
Zipse emerged as favourite because BMW's efficient production network, which he expanded in Hungary, China and the US, has helped the company deliver industry-leading profit margins despite its relatively small scale.
But experts say car industry leaders also need other skills for the new era of software-driven electric and autonomous cars.
BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have dominated the market for high-performance sedans for decades, but analysts warn a shift towards more sophisticated technology and software is opening the door to new challengers.
Zipse, who prefers suits and ties to open shirts and sneakers, will also need to ramp up BMW's software expertise as new players like Amazon and Google muscle into the sector.
