BMW has chosen Milan Nedeljkovic as its new CEO. He will take over on May 14, replacing Oliver Zipse.
The company wants Nedeljkovic to lead its push to compete more strongly with Tesla in the electric vehicle market. BMW is also facing more competition from Chinese EV makers.
Nedeljkovic, 56, has worked at BMW for over 30 years. He is currently the head of production and helped design BMW’s new Neue Klasse electric platform. Analysts say his main challenge will be increasing sales in China, the world’s largest car market.
“The success of the Nedeljkovic era will be decided in China,” said Moritz Kronenberger, portfolio manager at Union Investment.
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Kronenberger also said BMW needs better autonomous driving technology to match Tesla.
“Level 3 capability needs to be rolled out across the range… to keep pace with Tesla,” he added.
Analysts at Bernstein said it makes sense to give the job to someone who helped create the Neue Klasse.
“Neue Klasse represents the largest leap BMW has ever taken in investment and technology,” they said.
Nedeljkovic joined BMW in 1993 and joined the management board in 2019. His CEO contract runs until 2031. BMW’s supervisory board chair, Nicolas Peter, called him a “unifier and motivator.”
Oliver Zipse, CEO since 2019, will step down in May 2026 after 35 years at BMW. He is expected to join Airbus’ board. Peter said Zipse “guided BMW through global crises… and drove the vision behind Neue Klasse.”