BMW M gets a new leader and maybe some fresh air - Franciscus van Meel set to assume management of BMW M GmbH

[Sticky]

BMW M is shuffling their executive at the top of the M division. Dr. Friedrich Nitschke was in charge since 2011 when he took over for Dr. Kay Segler who had a very short run from 2009-2011. Nitschke is responsible for the new F80 M3 and F82 M4. He is retiring and Franciscus van Meel will join M in October and be phased in slowly before Nitschke officially steps down at the end of the year. Does this mean M will get some much needed fresh air?

Possibly. Franciscus van Meel previously worked as the head of Audi's Quattro performance division. Audi certainly improved under Meel who was replaced earlier this year apparently for failing to get the Audi R8 E-Tron into production. This lead to him ditching a role with Audi in Asia to get back to building German muscle cars which we can not blame him for.

Will Franciscus van Meel actually make any real enthusiast friendly changes at M or just keep things going in the direction of sales figures and profit margins above all else? BimmerBoost bets on the latter.

Franciscus van Meel assumes management of BMW M GmbH
23.09.2014

Munich. Franciscus van Meel (48) will take over as Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH from 1 January 2015. He is the successor to Dr. Friedrich Nitschke (59) who will be retiring at the end of the year.

Francisus van Meel, who will already be joining the BMW Group on 1 October, was last active as Managing Directory of quattro GmbH, a subsidiary of Audi AG. Since 1996 he has held various management positions in chassis development and the technical steering of vehicle projects at Audi AG before becoming Managing Director of quattro GmbH in 2012.

Dr. Friedrich Nitschke worked for the BMW Group for a total of 36 years. Since joining the company in 1978 he has held management positions in various company areas before taking over as director of development strategy, steering and testing. From 2007 to 2011 he headed vehicle development of the MINI brand. In 2011 he became Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH. Under his leadership the category BMW M Performance Automobiles was created as well as the new generation of the BMW M3 and BMW M4 models developed.

Dr. Herbert Diess, Member of the Board of Management for Development: "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."

[rawad1017]

lol the last guy was squirming and fighting with the head of BMW on every decision he makes so they get rid of him and bring in a puppet instead

$#@! yourselves bmw

[Sticky]

It would have been nice if he got the M1 done but whatever, he's being pushed out the door.

M isn't M.

[BlackJetE90OC]

They need his expertise from running Audi Quattro, for future fwd and awd M-cars. They are coming.

[Kommodore]

I remember the tech walk-around for the F80/2 where the chief engineer was also bitching about having leather seats. I'm sure he's next on the chopping block. Perhaps one of GM's engineers needs a new job.

[deemo319]

Is it me or did they hire Mr. Bean?

[rawad1017]

remember when bmw used to rip on Audi? remember when Audi was the inferior enemy? what the hell man

[klipseracer]

They made enough money and when companies get too big for themselves its all politics.

[Leo]

I met Dr Nitschke at the BMW M Festival at the Nurburgring earlier this year, hes a really nice guy. I asked him where there was never an M Roadster based on the current Z4 chassis. He said he wanted this car but replied to me saying that it never happened for reasons he prefers not to discuss. He was a real BMW fan, he had a 2002 and loved BMWs since he was a kid.

Having said that, it is ironic that Audi is now the only German manufacturer making NA V8 and V10 engines - this used to be BMW's mantra not long ago. I think it would be too hasty to say whether this is either a good or bad thing but certainly is interesting.

[Sticky]

He said he wanted this car but replied to me saying that it never happened for reasons he prefers not to discuss

Sounds like some people on the board didn't want to spend the money.

[leveraged sellout]

I don't think employees at M are the problem. I think the board is the problem. Not so sure I like a former Quattro guy coming on board. I don't want mandatory AWD M cars. Optional, sure.

I think regardless they're on a great track. We all know they are committed to making big use of CF in future cars, and will drop a lot of weight/add a lot of stiffness. Not sure NA engines are coming back for anyone outside of Ferrari and Lamborghini (and even that's on the edge of disappearing)...but we have our government to thank for that.

I am excited to see what this guy does, as I'm excited for any new blood in the organization. But not sure what exactly his direction will be.

[rawad1017]

m4 xdrive
m5 and m6 xdrive

[SSerx_R]

I hope seeing just RWD and AWD M cars, not FWD M cars. God please, or maybe, Mr. Van Meel please...