BMW aftermarket parts supplier and tuner AC Schnitzer will be closed down later this year, with the family-owned Kohl Group pulling the pin on the 39-year-old brand.
According to Rainer Vogel, AC Schnitzer’s managing director, “Making a rational decision regarding a business segment that is so emotionally charged is not easy, but as a family-owned business, we always think in terms of the entire Kohl Group and its stable future.”
One of the chief factors blamed for the decision to wind up AC Schnitzer is the “extremely long approval process for parts in the German system”, which meant the firm was bringing out components “eight or nine months after the [non-German] competition”.
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Mr Vogel also believes that AC Schnitzer – like other tuning companies – has not been “inspiring young customers to enjoy sporty driving with our brand to the same extent as their fathers’ generation did.” That said, the company also blamed the press for portraying the “buyers of vehicle enhancements through aftermarket parts” as “eccentrics or posers”.
Global economic factors also played a part, including a prolonged economic slump that caused sales in Germany to fall significantly, uncertain US tariffs, volatile exchange rates, rising raw material prices, and the “gradual decline of the internal combustion engine”.
Founded in 1987 by Willi Kohl and Herbert Schnitzer in Aachen, Germany, AC Schnitzer began tuning models from the BMW range. In addition to this, the company also went racing, modified motorcycles, and produced many parts, including aero components, engine and exhaust systems, suspension upgrades, and forged alloy wheels, which are sold through BMW dealerships in some countries.
Currently AC Schnitzer also offers parts for Mini, which is part of the BMW Group, and the Toyota GR Supra, which is based on the BMW Z4 and built alongside its convertible sibling in Austria. In the past the company also tuned cars from Land Rover.
Apparently there are on-going discussions with parties interested in buying the AC Schnitzer brand, but even if they conclude in a sale, existing stock will be sold off by the end of the year. Given the Kohl Group believes it’s “no longer economically viable to operate the tuning products business in Germany”, it’s likely the revived AC Schnitzer will be based outside of Germany’s borders.
The Kohl Group says it will honour warranties and offer aftersales support for AC Schnitzer products “beyond the end of 2026”.