Raymond Wittmann becomes new production chief at BMW

At the end of last year it became clear: The current BMW board member for production, Milan Nedljkovic, is to become the new CEO of the Munich-based premium OEM. It has now also been decided who will succeed him in the post of head of production: from 13 May 2026 – when Nedeljkovic becomes BMW boss – Raymond Wittmann will take over this business-critical board division. The supervisory board decided this at its meeting today.

Wittmann has been with BMW since 2015 and has been responsible for group strategy and development since 2024. Before that, the now 47-year-old held several management positions in various corporate divisions, including as head of assembly at the Munich parent plant, as chief financial officer for the Americas sales region and as project manager for establishing the production site in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Before joining the Bavarian carmaker, the Munich-born executive spent eight years working as a consultant at McKinsey, including as a partner.

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Wittmann must balance transformation and cost discipline

“Raymond Wittmann combines strategic thinking with operational excellence and entrepreneurial responsibility. With his broad, cross-functional experience and his international perspective, he has the decisive qualities required to lead the production division,” commented BMW supervisory board chairman Nicolas Peter on the appointment.

Wittmann is taking over at a time when BMW has to master a challenging transformation: for him, the task is to manage the rollout of the Neue Klasse with a completely new E/E architecture into the global production network, in parallel with necessary conversion work at several key plants such as Munich. In addition, as is currently the case for many other OEMs, there is ongoing margin pressure that requires efficient production processes and strict cost discipline in order to safeguard profitability despite high levels of investment.

An interesting side note: Wittmann’s entry into the BMW board also means a further rejuvenation of the body. At 47, he is, alongside purchasing director Nicolai Martin, the youngest member of the board.

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