Irish changes herald new BMW strategy.(News)(Brief Article)

Byline: Olive Keogh

BMW will replace an independent distributor it has used for the last 36 years and directly control distribution of its cars in Ireland by October 1.

Ireland is the first country where BMW has taken over from an independent distributor as new European Union block exemption rules take effect in October. It will not be the last. BMW says its mid-term aim is to do so across Europe.

The new chief executive of the Irish sales company will be Conrad Schmidt. He is currently BMW project manager for the European region.

"Changes in ...