BMW Group Appoints New President for North American Region

Jim O’Donnell, the president of BMW of North America, is retiring on a high note, with the company entertaining realistic notions of becoming the No. 1 luxury automotive brand in the United States. The executive will be succeeded in October by Ludwig Willisch, who oversaw BMW’s M performance division before being promoted to head European sales.

Mr. O’Donnell maneuvered BMW of North America through an exceptionally rough period for the luxury auto market, taking over in July 2008, just in time to run damage control during the global financial crisis, reported The New York Times.

Combined sales for the BMW and its Mini subsidiary brands fell by 20.3 percent in 2009. But a year later, as the crisis abated, sales rebounded, rising 10.1 percent.

Mr. O’Donnell probably can feel comfortable handing the keys to Mr. Willisch, as 2011 sales are up 18.1 percent through June relative to the same period in 2010. This puts the American operation on pace to beat the 2010 total and challenge Toyota’s Lexus division for the top spot among luxury nameplates, a position held by Lexus since 2000.

Mr. O’Donnell drew some ire this past April when he expressed skepticism at the prospect of electric vehicles achieving wide appeal. Critics said that this attitude could undermine BMW’s ambitious E.V. program; the brand introduced its E.V.-centric i sub-brand in February.

He quickly backtracked, but in the course of apologizing, Mr. O’Donnell attacked tax incentives for E.V. buyers, saying in an official statement that incentives should be targeted toward “a range of innovative actions that can meet diverse needs, rather than only one or two technologies.”

Mr. Willisch, the fourth German to lead BMW of North America since 1975, joined the automaker in 1996. He takes over the region at a high point, but also when its hard-won share of the market is being threatened by Audi and Mercedes-Benz, both of which recently announced plans to expand their production footprints in North America and also have reported robust sales growth.