Carsten Breitfeld

Last updated

Dr Carsten Breitfeld is a German car industry executive. After a twenty-year career with BMW, he then worked for a number of EV start ups including the Chinese-German Byton and more recently the Californian Faraday Future.

Career

Breitfeld worked with BMW for twenty years and was part of the BMW i division, including working on the BMW i8 [1] as vice president and Head of BMW i8 Program.

After leaving BMW, Breitfeld co-founded the Chinese-German Byton in July 2016, [2] originally called Future Mobility Corp and was funded by Tencent. He left the company in 2019 and joined Faraday Future as CEO. He was removed as CEO in November 2022 following concerns regarding the company's performance since its IPO. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW</span> German automotive manufacturer

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly abbreviated to BMW, is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945 creating engines for aircraft that were used in the Second World War. Automobiles are marketed under the brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, and motorcycles are marketed under the brand BMW Motorrad. In 2017, BMW was the world's fourteenth-largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,279,503 vehicles produced and in 2022 the 7th largest by revenue. In 2023, the company was ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000. The company has significant motor-sport history, especially in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magna International</span> Canadian automotive supplier

Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 Forbes Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North America by sales of original equipment parts; it has ranked consistently in the Fortune Global 500 list for 20 years in a row since 2001. It produces automotive systems, assemblies, modules, and components, which are supplied to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, as well as BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, and Tata Motors, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW M1</span> Sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer BMW from 1978 to 1981

The BMW M1 is a mid-engined sports car produced by German automotive manufacturer BMW from 1978 until 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW i8</span> Plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW

The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The i8 was part of BMW's electrified fleet and was marketed under the BMW i sub-brand. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and was released in Germany in June 2014. Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. began in August 2014. A roadster variant was launched in May 2018. Production ended in June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW i3</span> Battery electric subcompact car

The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle BMW i sub-brand. It is a B-segment, high-roof hatchback with an electric powertrain. It uses rear-wheel drive via a single-speed transmission and an underfloor lithium-ion battery pack with an optional range-extending petrol engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW i</span> Sub-brand of BMW

The BMW i is a sub-brand of BMW founded in 2011 to design and manufacture plug-in electric vehicles. The company initially released two vehicles: the i3 all-electric car and the i8 plug-in hybrid. The all-electric iX3 SUV was released in late 2020, while iX SUV and the i4 all-electric liftback sedan followed later in 2021.

NEVS AB was a Swedish electric car manufacturer which acquired the assets of Saab Automobile from a bankruptcy estate in 2012. After facing numerous financial difficulties, the company was closed in March 2023, with both Polestar and EV Electra interested in buying the former Trollhättan factory.

Marco Mattiacci is an Italian businessman.

From 2014 until 2023, Apple Inc. undertook a research and development effort to develop an electric and self-driving car, codenamed "Project Titan". Apple never openly discussed any of its automotive research, but around 5,000 employees were reported to be working on the project as of 2018. In May 2018, Apple reportedly partnered with Volkswagen to produce an autonomous employee shuttle van based on the T6 Transporter commercial vehicle platform. In August 2018, the BBC reported that Apple had 66 road-registered driverless cars, with 111 drivers registered to operate those cars. In 2020, it was believed that Apple was still working on self-driving related hardware, software and service as a potential product, instead of actual Apple-branded cars. In December 2020, Reuters reported that Apple was planning on a possible launch date of 2024, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed it would not be launched before 2025 and might not be launched until 2028 or later.

Jia Yueting is a Chinese businessman who is the founder of Leshi Holding Group and the former CEO of Faraday Future. He previously founded LeEco and the Le.com subsidiary LeSports, and is the former chairman and CEO of Le.com as well as the former chairman of both Coolpad Group and Sinotel Technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faraday Future</span> American car manufacturer

Faraday Future is an American startup technology company focused on the development of electric vehicles, founded in 2014.

Richard Kim is a Korean-American car designer, known for his work on the BMW i3 and i8 electric cars. He joined Canoo in 2017 as Chief Design Officer and Co-Founder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nio Inc.</span> Chinese car company

Nio Inc. is a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in designing and developing electric vehicles. The company develops battery-swapping stations for its vehicles, as an alternative to conventional charging stations. The company has raised over $5 billion from investors. In 2021, Nio announced plans to expand to 25 different countries and regions by 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byton M-Byte</span> Chinese electric car

The Byton M-Byte was an all-electric battery-powered SUV 2018 concept car from Byton. It was scheduled for production in 2019 but the company encountered difficulties and the car did not go on sale and the company ceased trading in 2023.

Byton was a Chinese-German all-electric vehicle automotive brand established in 2017 and incorporated in Hong Kong, co-founded by former BMW and Nissan executives. Byton unveiled its first concept car to the public in January 2018. It planned to introduce its M-Byte SUV model first, with the start of production and sales scheduled for late 2019, however developmental delays and financial troubles repeatedly pushed back the launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Zipse</span> German manager (born 1964)

Oliver Zipse is a German business executive who has been the chairman of the board of management (CEO) of BMW since 16 August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Diess</span> Austrian businessman

Herbert Diess is an Austrian businessman, the former (2018-2022) chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Group, he also held the position of chairman of the board of management for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.

Qiantu Motor is a Chinese automobile manufacturer. It is headquartered in Suzhou. It specializes in designing and developing electric vehicles.

Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed from the merger in 2021 of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canoo</span> American electric vehicle manufacturer

Canoo Inc. is an American automotive company based in Torrance, California, that develops and manufactures electric vehicles. Canoo's research & development team is based in Michigan, in the Detroit region, and production operations are in Justin, Texas. The company also plans to produce commercial electric vehicles such as vans for fleet, vehicle rental and ride sharing services.

References

  1. "BMW Loses Core Development Team of Its i3 and i8 Electric Vehicle Line". Wall Street Journal. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. "BMW bosses to skip Paris show to thrash out electric car strategy". Reuters. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. "Faraday fires their CEO Carsten Breitfeld". Elective. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 February 2024.