Oliver Zipse has refused to put the combustion engine in the grave for many years. But now his days as BMW director are almost over.
One of the greatest advocates for the continued existence of the internal combustion engine will soon be a thing of the past.
Oliver Zipse will leave his job as managing director of BMW in 2026, German Manager Magazin reports this week.
It is reported that the brand has already started looking for a replacement. Whether that person is already in place is immediately more uncertain.
Oliver Zipse is a man who has spent his entire working life at BMW. The now 60-year-old German began working for the Munich brand in 1991. At the time, he was a trainee.
In 2019, Zipse was promoted to managing director after Harald Krüger, who was director from 2015 to 2019. Harald Krüger then rejected BMW's offer to extend his contract.
Whether Zipse has done the same is more uncertain. But a source with knowledge of the situation tells the German media that Zipse's contract will not be extended in any case.
– There will be no further extension of the contract, says the newspaper's source.
Under Oliver Zipse, BMW can note that it has had significantly more success with electric cars than both Mercedes and Audi. And this even though the Munich brand, unlike its competitors, has consistently refused to set a date for the phasing out of the combustion engine.
According to the BBC, the BMW boss was and is far from the highest-paid director in the automotive industry. With an annual salary of just over 5.3 million euros, equivalent to 40 million kroner after bonus schemes, he receives significantly less than his colleague at Porsche, Oliver Blume, who also has overall responsibility for the entire VW Group.
