Thomas Wittig has been named head of BMW Group Financial Services — taking over for Erich Ebner von Eschenbach, who will stay with BMW leading its aftersales group, effective in July, the company announced in a press release Friday.
Wittig joined BMW in 1989, most recently as senior vice president of group reporting, the release stated. He has held several leadership positions throughout the years including executive vice president of finance for BMW North America; vice president of BMW Group sales planning, process, and IT planning; and vice president of BMW Group financial planning and controlling. He holds a doctorate in economics and a diploma in business administration.
Eschenbach was named head of financial services in 2011 after taking over for Georg Bauer, who is now founding the alternative car ownership model called Fair, and recently spoke at Auto Finance Innovation 2017.
Eschenbach grew BMW Financial’s outstandings to $37.9 billion in 2016, up from $24.6 billion when he first assumed the position, according to the Big Wheels Report. Originations more than doubled in that time period, reaching $20.4 billion in 2016 compared with $9.1 billion in 2011.
