The former boss of Audi’s quattro GmbH, Franciscus van Meel is set to become the new Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH after Dr. Fridrich Nitschke steps down from his position at the start of next year.
It is believed that van Meel was initially ousted from Audi after disagreements with Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s technical development boss. Delays regarding the next-generation R8 are believed to have been the trigger point for such disagreements.
Discussing the appointment, BMW’s Dr. Herbert Diess said, “The position of M GmbH on the market has never been better in the company’s history and it continues to achieve sales record after sales record. Friedrich Nitschke has done outstanding work over the past years and has made a crucial contribution to the success of the company. The entire Board of Management of BMW AG would like to express its gratitude to him.”
