(By Guan察zhe Wang, Gao Xin) On November 21, we met with Sophie Schmid, the newly appointed President and CEO of Brilliance BMW (hereinafter referred to as Brilliance BMW), who took office on August 1, 2024. She is the eighth CEO in the 22-year history of Brilliance BMW, and also the first female CEO. This is her first dialogue with Chinese media three months after taking office.

President and CEO of Brilliance BMW Sophie Schmid, all images in this article are from the BMW official website

According to the already published third-quarter 2025 financial reports and sales data, the performance of the BMW Group shows a "global recovery, China under pressure" divergence. In the third quarter, due to the recovery of demand in Europe and the United States, as well as the impressive performance of the MINI brand, the BMW Group achieved a recovery in sales and financial indicators globally. However, the Chinese market was the only major market of BMW that experienced a decline in sales, although the decline has narrowed, the overall situation remains severe. The main reasons are the impact of the "price war" from 2024 to 2025, the pains of transformation, and changes in consumer demand.

Against this backdrop, with the end of the previous CEO of Brilliance BMW, Dachuan's term, Sophie Schmid's appointment seemed to be a normal "rotation," but her background and personal characteristics made this appointment more intriguing.

Sophie Schmid holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Münster, Germany, and a master's degree in management from Stanford University, USA. She joined the BMW Group in 2018 as Senior Vice President of Finance and Group Treasurer. At first glance, a senior executive with a background in "finance + finance" taking over is certainly related to cost-cutting, reducing expenses, minimizing risks in the Chinese market, or even making strategic retreats. However, upon closer analysis, there are several deeper meanings behind this personnel appointment:

First, prepare for the long-term "survival," accumulate resources for 2026 and beyond.

The corporate treasury refers to the core department or management system within an enterprise group responsible for fund management and financial resource allocation, the "general manager" of cash flow and the "gatekeeper" of financial risk.

At this time, BMW dispatching its core "money bag" chief to its joint venture and main production base in China means that BMW wants to maintain long-term "blood-making" capability in China, accumulate "ammunition" for market counterattacks in 2026 and beyond.

New Generation Concept Car of BMW

The New Generation models that will be produced and launched in China next year have been interpreted by BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipse as "New Generation is not just a car, it is the rebranding of the BMW brand." To realize the localization of the New Generation models, BMW has invested hundreds of billions in the Shenyang production base to build the new digital LiDa factory and the sixth-generation battery project. We speculate that Sophie Schmid's appointment must ensure that these investments generate the expected returns, strengthen cash flow management, and improve capital efficiency, avoiding resource misallocation during the enterprise transformation period. This is a necessary action for BMW during the transition between old and new products.

Therefore, it can be seen that BMW is prepared for a long-term "survival" in the Chinese market. When explaining her mission in this period of change to Observers, Sophie Schmid said that her mission can be summarized into two core aspects: first, to consolidate current operations, and second, to make long-term planning for the future. Her work experience in multiple markets such as Europe and the United States, as well as her experience dealing with market fluctuations, will help make decisions that are beneficial for navigating cycles.

Second, innovation in financial methods and other diversified tools to adjust postures to cope with challenges in China.

Sophie Schmid once managed the largest financial services market of BMW - the Americas market. This market is driven by the U.S. market, which is the world's largest single-country automotive financial market, with high new and used car financial penetration rates maintained for a long time.

Sophie Schmid told Observers that looking at the present, their primary task is to continue providing high-quality, high-value products to customers while maintaining and optimizing the health of the dealer network, ensuring that the existing product portfolio can steadily face market challenges - "only by standing firm now can we better move towards the future."

We speculate that BMW will participate in competition in the Chinese market with more strategic means, rather than engaging in a "price war." And automotive finance is a good lever to ensure sales under stable prices.

We speculate that BMW will innovate its business model to remain in the Chinese market. Rather than directly competing head-on.

Third, "deepening" is not just about hard investment, but also about soft integration.

A very significant personal characteristic of Sophie Schmid is that, unlike the current foreign executives of major joint ventures in China, she has a deep love and understanding of Chinese culture and philosophy.

She visited China as a tourist in 2001, and has since made multiple private and business trips to China. She loves Chinese martial arts, practices Wushu herself, and her children have been learning Wushu for years. In recent years, she has been following a Chinese master to learn Tai Chi for several years. She said, "Wushu is not just about physical fitness; it contains profound cultural heritage and core philosophy - such as the way of balance, perseverance, discipline, and persistence. These are essential qualities for achieving success." Speaking of Tai Chi, she said, "After each practice, I feel my thoughts become clear and I can better balance the surrounding disturbances. This experience deeply fascinates me."

She summarized her experiences visiting China multiple times, saying, "What attracts me is not just the beautiful landscapes here, but also every person I meet on the journey. The warmth and hospitality of the people, as well as the profound cultural heritage behind them, are truly touching places. It is this human charm that makes me deeply向往 China."

A female CEO who loves Chinese culture and respects Chinese philosophy naturally carries a sense of approachability and a listening attitude. It can be inferred that in the future, BMW may not teach users what a good car is, but may be more willing to lower its stance and listen to the needs of Chinese users, achieving a cultural resonance and emotional "adapting to local customs." This will also be reflected in BMW's investments and cooperation in the Chinese market.

Fourth, sending "one's own people" to the front line is a form of power delegation.

Sophie Schmid said that in daily life in China, she can clearly feel the beautiful combination of tradition and modernity. People wear traditional clothing to visit historical sites, while cities are full of modern vibes. She observed, "The younger generation of Chinese consumers has a high enthusiasm for technology, they are naturally equipped with digital perception and usage capabilities. This feature requires us to conduct in-depth adaptation for the Chinese market to accurately meet their needs."

Aerial view of the LiDa factory of Brilliance BMW in Shenyang

She said that she will further deepen localization production, and actively cooperate with domestic technology companies to accelerate the launch of products that better meet the needs of Chinese consumers. This also once again reflects BMW's determination to deepen the Chinese market, appointing the most trusted person to China, so that they can continue to invest.

At the same time, this person can ensure that while deeply integrating with China's digital innovation capabilities, they adhere to BMW's core principles, as Sophie Schmid herself said, the core values of the BMW brand are "pure driving pleasure" and "safety, reliability, and high quality." Therefore, she emphasized that they must always maintain control over technological integration because BMW's core advantage is system integration capability.

Based on the above points, it must be said that this appointment of Sophie Schmid demonstrates the experienced and steady decision-making of a century-old multinational automaker when facing dynamic changes in geopolitics, local market challenges, and industry transformation. Using financial methods to protect profit margins, applying financial tools to stabilize sales bases, and building emotional connections through cultural love, based on this, waiting for the launch of the New Generation models in 2026. Sophie Schmid said, "The automotive industry has never stood still, there are always new players entering, bringing new ideas, new technologies, and new solutions. The industry is far from reaching its end. We have just begun a new wave of intelligent cars, and China's role in this field is particularly significant. Other market participants will follow closely, and everyone will face more intense competition."

This article is exclusive to Observers, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576122544794452499/

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