BMW’s new CEO bet early on Nvidia for lead in factory setup

In 2021, well before Al (artificial intelligence) became a corporate buzzword, BMW AG's production chief Milan Nedeljkovic made a bet on using Nvidia Corp.'s technology to virtually plan future factories.

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Championing the experimental but digitally ambitious tools over Siemens AG's tried and tested factory-software suite was risky. But with the first of the German carmaker's new range of electric vehicles (EVs), dubbed Neue Klasse, rolling off factory lines—following the biggest investment in the company’s history—Nedeljkovic can feel vindicated for having used Nvidia's photo-realistic simulations to help prepare BMW's plants for the production.

On Tuesday, the carmaker named Nedeljkovic its next chief executive officer (CEO), with the 56-year-old set to take over from Oliver Zipse, 61, in May. The move will make him the fourth consecutive production head to be appointed to the group’s top job, and effectively rewards him for overseeing the luxury automaker's challenging shift to EVs that involved retooling factories to build multiple drivetrains on the same line.

“Neue Klasse represents the largest leap BMW has ever taken in investment and in technology,” Bernstein analyst Stephen Reitman said in a note. “It is good that on one of its principal architects will lead the company as this gets progressively deployed.”

Still, Nedeljkovic, an engineer by training, has his job cut out for him. He will be taking over at a time of deep upheaval in the car industry, with seismic technological and market shifts prompting leadership changes at a number of automakers. Rivals such as Stellantis NV, Renault SA, Volvo Car and Porsche have all named new CEOs in recent months.