Outgoing BMW chief executive Joachim Milberg has told a British newspaper that the disposal of Rover in 2000 was one of the highlights in his three years at the helm of BMW.
The comments are at odds with the general perception in the industry that the disposal was an acutely painful episode for BMW and that the company was effectively let off the hook by the eleventh hour emergence of the Phoenix bid, led by John Towers.
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Milberg told the Guardian: “The separation with Rover without losing jobs and without damaging BMW’s image, especially in Great Britain” was a key achievement.
Others in the industry see things a little differently.
As the Guardian points out, when BMW was still talking to the original Rover suitor, venture capital group Alchemy (which would have axed thousands of jobs), the House of Commons trade and industry select committee criticised the German group for “incompetence and excessive secrecy” over its handling of the Rover disposal.
