BMW Names New Design Chief

BMW AG has appointed Karim Habib to become head of design unit June 1.

Habib, 42, has been in charge of exterior design for BMW-brand cars since March 2011. He joined BMW's design group in 1998 and helped style the company's current-generation 7 Series large sedan under then-design chief Chris Bangle. He also penned the Concept CS, which inspired the current-generation 6 Series car.

Habib left to run Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz advanced design studio in 2009 but returned to BMW at the end of 2010. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal and is a graduate of the Art Center College for Design in Pasadena, Calif.

Habib, a Lebanese-born Canadian designer, succeeds Adrian van Hooydonk, who replaced Bangle as senior vice president for BMW Group design in 2009.