Manfred Erlacher will replace Josef Kerscher as president in November
BMW announced that Josef Kerscher will vacate his post as president of BMW Manufacturing and his replacement will arrive November 1.
Kerscher will assume the role of managing director of BMW Plant Dingolfing in Bavaria, Germany. He will be replaced by Manfred Erlacher, currently managing director of BMW Plant Leipzig in Saxony, Germany.
“Since 2007, I have had the privilege to oversee significant expansion and investment in BMW’s South Carolina operations,” Kerscher told UBJ. “As I transition to manage Plant Dingolfing, I hope to retain the wonderful relationships developed with my Spartanburg team and the surrounding community. The key insights learned from my tenure in South Carolina will serve me well as I begin my next opportunity.”
The company said production at the plant nearly tripled during Kerscher’s tenure, going from 105,000 vehicles in 2006 to more than 301,000 vehicles in 2012. He oversaw a major expansion and sustainable energy improvements. During the same period, the Spartanburg plant became the largest exporter of cars from the United States, adding the X6 model.
Erlacher succeeded Kerscher once before as head of BMW’s Munich plant when Kerscher came to Spartanburg. Erlacher has been managing director of Leipzig since 2009, recently leading the plant through a major expansion.
An engineer by training, Erlacher has extensive experience in BMW production having led both assembly and body shop operations at Plant Munich before becoming managing director of the plant.
Last week the company reported that BMW Group’s U.S. sales increased 21 percent from a year ago to 33,729 units. For the first half of the year, the group’s sales rose 9 percent from the same period in 2012 to 173,291 units. Numbers reflect combined sales of BMW and MINI models.
