BMW Motorrad CEO Dr. Markus Schramm Interviewed

Intensive, detailed, one-on-one interview with BMW Motorrad CEO Dr.Markus Schramm, covering all aspects of his company’s operations

- Alan Cathcart

As it heads towards its Centenary as a motorcycle manufacturer in 2023, BMW Motorrad continues to be the largest European producer of premium motorcycles and scooters. In 2017, it delivered 164,153 such products to customers worldwide, clocking up its seventh annual sales record in succession via its 1,200-plus dealers in 90 countries, as overall sales increased by 13.2% from 2016 – a figure it’s hoping to beat this year. Sales however are flatlining somewhat, with 139,845 customers around the world taking delivery of a new BMW motorcycle or scooter during the first ten months of this year, down 0.3% on 2017.

This has come in a year which saw a change in top management at the German manufacturer, when Dr. Markus Schramm took over as CEO of BMW Motorrad on May 1, 2018 after his predecessor Stephan Schaller left the BMW Group in February with the minimum of due notice. This left BMW Motorrad under the provisional management of Hubert Kühner, Head of Finance, who entered retirement in April to be succeeded as a full time appointment by 55-year old Markus Schramm. He has been with BMW since 1991, and immediately before assuming his new role was previously responsible for Corporate and Product Strategy Planning for the entire BMW Group.

In his spare time, Schramm is an ardent longtime motorcyclist and accomplished marathon runner, one of the 133 members of the elite Marathon Grand Slam Club comprising runners who have completed a marathon on each of the seven Continents as well as on the frozen Arctic Ocean, by running in the gruelling North Pole Marathon!

By widespread assent, BMW ‘won’ EICMA 2018, in presenting six world premiere new models at the Milan Show in November, headlined by the all-new S 1000 RR. The chance to speak at length there with Markus Schramm one-on-one, uncovered some key pointers for BMW Motorrad’s future direction.