About

BMW has enjoyed a very impressive 2018 in China, and its 10-person BMW Group China legal affairs department based in Beijing has been a major contributing factor in this. The team is led by BMW Group China general counsel Dr Stefan Schroecker, who reports to the general counsel of BMW Group in the headquarter Munich and indirectly to the president and CEO of BMW Group Region China. Dr Schroecker explains that ‘the changing automotive landscape requires constant adaptation and new legal expertise to advise on new strategic areas and projects of the future business in addition to the core business’. The expansion of the legal affairs team by two new senior legal counsel joining from top tier law firms has been an important development in the past two years. Besides the operational business, the BMW Group China legal affairs department has advised on a series of exciting projects which pay in the company’s strategy, as Dr Schroecker outlines: ‘Over the past two years, we have led the legal side of the acquisition of a PRC leasing company and advised on the integration of the new company into BMW Group China. We advise on the digitalisation strategy, related sub-projects in China, autonomous driving and future mobility service solutions in China, related legal aspects, corporate structures, co-operations and transactions’. Dr Schroecker’s admiration for his team’s work is obvious, with him providing the following words about the team’s internal culture: ‘We embrace a culture of respect and confidence, of appreciation and fairness as well as reliability, collegiality and loyalty; In addition to the five core values of our company (responsibility, trust, appreciation, openness and transparency) we are committed to achieving excellence and embodying the values of professionalism, diligence and integrity’.