German luxury car maker BMW today said Andreas Schaaf will take over as the company's India President from May this year.
He will replace Peter Kronschnabl, who has been appointed as the President of BMW Group Russia, headquartered in Moscow, with effect from July 1, BMW India said in a statement.
Schaaf is the Vice-President of BMW Group Korea with responsibility of Sales and Marketing. He has been associated with BMW since 1996 and had earlier served as the head of market development for the region of Asia, Pacific, Africa, and Central & Eastern Europe.
Kronschnabl's departure comes at a time when the Munich-headquartered company is in a tight race for the number one position in the Indian luxury car market with its German rival Merecedes-Benz.
Kronschnabl laid the foundation of the company in India during the run-up to and following its India entry in 2006 and the formation of BMW India, the wholly-owned subsidiary.
In 2009, BMW overtook Mercedes as the numero uno luxury carmaker in the Indian market with sales of 3,619 units against 3,247 units of the rival.
Last week, Kronschanabl had told a group of visiting Indian journalists at Munich that the target for 2010 was to cross the 4,000-unit mark in sales and sustain the momentum.
He had also announced that the company will be increasing the manpower at its Chennai plants and launch the New 5 Series and X1 in India as part of the strategy.