In his new position as CEO, Kuhnt will appoint a successor to Witt, the announcement said.
“I am delighted to welcome Bernhard Kuhnt to our Americas team,” Willisch said in the statement. “Bernhard brings many years of experience in the global automotive industry to his new role here in the United States. At the same time, we are sorry to say goodbye to Petter Witt, but wish him the greatest success in his new business endeavor.”
BWM’s U.S. brand sales slipped 9.5 percent to 313,174 vehicles in 2016 -- well behind Mercedes-Benz’s 340,237 luxury-vehicle deliveries and Lexus’ 331,228 deliveries. While BMW sales were up 0.1 percent to 18,109 vehicles in January -- good for second place among luxury brands -- they were still far behind Mercedes-Benz’s 25,527 deliveries.