Panke's era ends abruptly.(News)

Byline: Jens Meiners, Paul McVeigh

BMW is replacing its successful chairman Helmut Panke September 1. Why?

For these reasons, according to people who know the company:

* Although Panke has boosted BMW's sales volume and revenues during his four-year term, the company's operating profit has not grown proportionately and the profit BMW makes on each car it sells has decreased

* BMW's supervisory board wants an engineer as chairman to focus on improving quality and introducing successful niche models. Panke, BMW's former chief financial o