Dr. Rudolf Bencker will become a new Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) on July 1, 2026. Dr. Bencker will be responsible for the Product and Value Creation division. His future priorities will include, among other things, the powertrains of the future, electromobility, connected, automated and autonomous driving, software-defined vehicles, as well as artificial intelligence, security and data. He will also be responsible for homologation, standardization, production and manufacturing processes.

Dr. Bencker has been with the BMW Group for over 30 years, most recently as Senior Vice President Group Invention & Innovation Management. In this role, he led and coordinated strategic initiatives for the integration of future-oriented technologies such as AI and data-driven innovations. "Artificial intelligence, data-driven innovations, and digital technologies will be crucial to the competitiveness of the automotive industry of the future. I will contribute my expertise to strengthen innovation, technological sovereignty, and value creation in Germany. I am very much looking forward to my new responsibilities, my future colleagues, and working with the members," Bencker explained.

Dr. Marcus Bollig, the current Managing Director for Product and Value Creation, will leave the VDA on June 30 after four years of service and return to the BMW Group as planned. "These were intense years, marked by major challenges. I enjoyed this role immensely and performed it with great passion, and I thank all my colleagues and members for their excellent cooperation."  

"We wish Dr. Marcus Bollig all the best for his next steps in the future. He has led the Product and Value Creation division very successfully over the past four years with great personal commitment. I thank him sincerely for his dedication and the excellent cooperation," VDA President Hildegard Müller explained.

"With the appointment of Dr. Rudolf Bencker as the new head of the Product and Value Creation division, we will further strengthen our commitment to the transformation towards climate-neutral mobility and comprehensive digitalization, particularly with regard to AI and data-driven innovations. I am very much looking forward to future collaboration," Müller continued.