Manfred Erlacher, currently managing director of BMW’s Leipzig plant, will take over as president of the company’s operations in Spartanburg, South Carolina, replacing Josef Kerscher who is to become MD of the Dingolfing factory in Germany. The handover will take place on 1 November, 2013.

Kerscher has been president at Spartanburg since 2007. The plant is the global manufacturing home for the X3, X5 and X6 and is currently undergoing a US$900m expansion to increase capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year ahead of next year’s launch of the X4. Last year it produced 301,000 vehicles and was the USA’s biggest exporter of cars.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

Erlacher’s successor at Leipzig will be Milan Nedeljkovic who steps up from head of assembly at the plant.

Just Auto Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Auto Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Continental has secured the Window Displays Innovation Award in the 2025 Just Auto Excellence Awards for its Window Projection solution, transforming side windows into dynamic, data-rich canvases. Discover how this compact projection technology and intelligent software are reshaping in-car UX and opening fresh revenue streams for OEMs and mobility providers.

Discover the Impact