DETROIT — Bob Lutz, known to be one of the automotive industry’s most charismatic figures, has announced he will retire from his post as General Motors’ vice chairman at the end of the year.
The 77-year-old began his career at GM Europe in 1963 after graduating with a B.S. from the University of California-Berkeley in 1961; and an MBA from the same institution in 1962. His career includes time spent as executive vice president, sales for BMW AG, a number of positions during a 12-year tenure at Ford, and another 12 years at Chrysler Corp. where he reached the position of vice chairman. Prior to rejoining GM as vice chairman in 2001, Lutz was chairman and chief executive officer of Exide Technologies. He served as chairman of Exide until his resignation in 2002, and remained a board member until 2004.
Talking about his planned retirement, Lutz told the Detroit Free Press that new government oversight and tougher regulations will change the way the automotive industry works going forward and that may not work for him. "I would say that for a person like me who thrives on the challenge of anticipating … customer desires and has a certain knack for doing vehicles that please people in the marketplace, there’s … unquestionably an environment where the future products are going to be increasingly driven by regulation," Lutz said in the Free Press interview.
According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, Lutz will transition into a new role at GM on April 1, serving as vice chairman and senior adviser until his retirement.
