Audi poaches new CEO from BMW

Herbert Diess looks to have finally snared the Audi CEO he always wanted.

A German newspaper has reported that BMW’s engine development and purchasing expert, Markus Duesmann, will finally fill his long awaited position at the top of the Audi executive chain.

The first choice of Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess, Duesmann’s path to joining Audi dramatically shortened this week after BMW agreed to let him go before his contract expires at the end of September.

Duesmann worked closely with Diess during the Volkswagen boss’s time as BMW’s board member for development, but former CEO Harald Krueger had kept him locked down at the Bavarian carmaker.

Frankufter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Sunday that the 50-year-old will start at the head of Audi on April 1.

Duesmann had been hand-picked by Diess to replace Rupert Stadler as far back as July last year, when the Audi CEO was arrested on accusations of Dieselgate-related fraud and deception.

Audi is still dogged by controversy as the Ground Zero for the Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate crisis, with new rumours swirling that it may need to buy back tens of thousands of Euro IV cars in Europe because they can’t be cleaned up.

The only problem with bringing Duesmann finally within the Audi fold is that Audi already replaced Stadler, first on an interim and then on a permanent basis, with its sales and marketing boss, Bram Schot.

Schot will remain with the Volkswagen Group in a senior sales role, after he impressed in his time in charge of Audi.