BMW Media Site BMW Group’s Driver Assistance and Autonomous Driving Development department under new leadership. Alejandro Vukotich takes over at the helm, Elmar Frickenstein to retire after handover phase. Contact: Phil  Diianni phil.diianni@bmwna.com     BMW Group’s Driver Assistance and Autonomous Driving Development department under new leadership. Alejandro Vukotich takes over at the helm, Elmar Frickenstein to retire after handover phase. Munich, Germany- December 12, 2018... On 1 January 2019, Alejandro Vukotich will take over as Senior Vice President of the BMW Group’s Driver Assistance and Autonomous Driving Development department.He is being appointed to replace Elmar Frickenstein, who has been in charge of the department since its creation in May 2016. Between 2006 and 2016, Elmar Frickenstein was head of the Electrics, Electronics and Driver Environment department that was the precursor to the Driver Assistance and Autonomous Driving unit. During a career at the BMW Group spanning 30 years, Elmar Frickenstein has had a formative influence on vehicle electronics and channelled his energy and expertise into its advancement. He will retire on 31.03.2019 after a three-month handover phase.Alejandro Vukotich has 19 years of experience in the field of active safety, driver assistance and autonomous driving in the German automotive industry. He has clearly demonstrated both his engineering and his management skills in his previous positions.The topics of driver assistance and autonomous driving play a pivotal role in the BMW Group’s strategy for the future. Development is largely carried out at the BMW Group Autonomous Driving Campus in Unterschleißheim near Munich, which was officially opened in April 2018. There are currently around 1,300 specialists there from the BMW Group and its key partners, such as FCA, Intel and Mobileye, who are working on the development of a technology stack for highly and fully automated Level 2, 3, 4 and 5 driving. The BMW iNEXT will be the first model from the BMW Group to be equipped with a Level 3 system for highly automated driving when it is launched in 2021.  BMW Group In AmericaBMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California;  a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and assembles the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 145 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.www.bmwgroup.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroupTwitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroupYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupviewGoogle+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.comJournalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.