BMW's chairman steps down two years early

BMW shocked the motor industry yesterday by announcing that its chairman Joachim Milberg, the architect of the German carmaker's recovery following the sale of Rover, is quitting two years early.

The other BMW executive instrumental in the Rover decision, Werner Samann, is also retiring from the company. Mr Samann, 59, was chairman of Rover in May 2000 when BMW sold its "English Patient" to the Phoenix consortium for £10.

BMW said that Mr Milberg, 58, had decided to retire early from the management board to avoid speculation about his successor. Mr Milberg also suffers from a bad back due to a slipped disc and this is understood to have contributed to the decision. He will be succeeded by BMW's current finance director, Dr Helmut Panke, at BMW's annual meeting next May. Mr Milberg will then become a member of the group's supervisory board.

Dr Panke, 55, has long been seen as a potential chairman by insiders at the Bavarian car maker. By taking on the chairmanship now, he will be able to serve a full five-year term before reaching retirement age.

BMW's supervisory board is said to have accepted Mr Milberg's early retirement reluctantly. Volker Doppelfeld, chairman of the supervisory board, said he was leaving at a time of huge success for BMW with sales up 9 per cent to 900,000 this year and net profits expected to beat last year's record 1.02bn euros (£639m).