[Jason]

Via Handelsblatt:

Premium automaker BMW is planning a major restructuring of its executive board and a shift in its electric mobility strategy, according to information obtained by Handelsblatt.

BMW declined to comment.

The automaker plans to merge its marketing and sales operations for the brands Mini and BMW and replace Friedrich Eichiner as chief financial officer.

Nicolas Peter, a close confidant of Chief Executive Harald Krüger, will take over the company’s finances from Mr. Eichiner. Mr. Peter currently serves as BMW’s head of sales in Europe.

BMW is also planning major changes in its electric mobility strategy to keep up with U.S. rival Tesla. In addition to the fully electric “i3” models, which have been in production since 2013, BMW will also offer fully electric versions of the Mini, the BMW3 series and the X4 SUV, which is built in the United States.

The supervisory board is expected to approve the new electric models during a two-day meeting at the end of the month.

BMW faces increasingly stiff competition from Tesla in the electric car market. The U.S. e-car maker has received 400,000 pre-orders for its Model 3 sedan alone. BMW’s i3, on the other hand, has struggled with falling sales in the first half of the year.