BMW won't extend Panke's contract

Automobilewoche says that BMW AG won't renew its chairman's contract past its end in 2007. It was recently reported that BMW would extend the contract of Dr. Helmut Panke, who turns 60 next year, to 2010; however, now it seems that BMW will go along with its customary practice of retiring its board members at 60.

The decision is interesting given Panke's success -- at this point in Panke's tenure, BMW is hitting record numbers.