Official: Combustion Loyal Oliver Zipse To Remain BMW's CEO Until 2026

BMW's Supervisory Board has announced that CEO Oliver Zipse's contract has been extended until 2026. The 59-year-old automotive executive has been on BMW's Board of Management for eight years and has been Chairman since August 2019.

During his tenure, Zipse has grown BMW's electric vehicle range significantly, with an EV available in nearly all premium segments. The automaker may have been a trailblazer with the i3, but under Zipse's leadership, the brand has introduced six electric vehicles, four of which are offered locally.

Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said Zipse's contribution to BMW is crucial to the company's success. "In a phase of global crises and profound transformation, the BMW Group has not only achieved reliably robust results under his leadership but has also sustainably strengthened its leading position in global competition. With the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is well on track to further expand this position."

Zipse has also been tasked with leading the Munich-based automaker into the Neue Klasse era. BMW's future lineup of cars will be based on a cutting-edge Neue Klasse platform that will accommodate ICE, electric, and even hydrogen drivetrains.

Neue Klasse is the most expensive project in the company's history and borrows nothing from current and outgoing BMWs. "Not only are the cars new but also all of the technologies: architecture, battery cells, high-voltage battery systems. Not a single component is being taken from [the] previous generation. Everything is new," said Chief Technical Officer Frank Weber.

A sixth-generation lithium cell battery has been developed for the Neue Klasse vehicles. The automaker promises it will deliver more range and improved charging speeds. The move into the Neue Klasse era will strengthen BMW's position in the premium EV market.

And while the automaker has committed to offering a solid range of electric vehicles, such as the i7 (pictured above), Zipse has pulled no punches when sharing his thoughts on the looming ICE bans and stringent emissions legislation. Earlier this year, he criticized the upcoming Euro 7 regulations that will make life difficult for automakers. Zipse argued that the testing conditions are unrealistic.

He has spoken out against combustion engine bans, noting that not all markets are ready to embrace electric vehicles. A ban on gas-powered cars would be premature, he said. "If you try to ban this technology in Germany and Europe, but the world market is not even that far, you will lose this technology on the world market. Therefore, we warn against this [happening] too early and not giving [enough time] for the transformation to [occur] in [other] markets," he said.

Like Toyota, the German automaker wants to take a measured approach to environmentally friendly motoring and is experimenting with hydrogen technology.