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# Iconic BMW tuner thrown a lifeline
- URL: https://torquecafe.com/car-news-2026-ac-schnitzer-bmw-tuner-saved/
- Published: 2026-09-29T19:47:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-29T19:47:50.000Z
- Description: After announcing its imminent closure in March, modified BMW experts AC Schnitzer have been sold to a new owner, bringing life back into the brand.
- Author: Jordan Mulach
- Tags: News, Performance

The road continues for AC Schnitzer, with the German tuner famed for its fast BMWs saved from closure by a new owner.

As reported by [*BMW Blog*](https://www.bmwblog.com/2026/09/29/bmw-tuner-ac-schnitzer-new-owner/?ref=torquecafe.com), the Dutch-based AM Group has reportedly agreed to buy AC Schnitzer from its current owner, the German KOHL Group, with the deal claimed to be closing in November.

According to the publication, the sale will include AC Schnitzer’s technical documentation and TÜV approvals – the latter of which is Germany’s certification program – to its new owners, allowing them to continue on the business in its current state rather than start from scratch.

The report adds that while AM Group will be its owners, a new team based in Germany and run by managing director Imran Arshad, who co-founded Evolve Automotive, will take care of AC Schnitzer’s daily operations.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/ac_schnitzer_acs3_sport_1.jpg)

With new ownership set to take the helm, AC Schnitzer will complete its 40th year of operations with a pathway to keep operating, something which it [didn’t have six months ago.](https://torquecafe.com/bmw-news-ac-schnitzer-tuner-closing/)

Established as a road car tuning business in 1987 after the success of the Schnitzer Motorsport BMW racing team in the 1970s and early 1980s, AC Schnitzer became one of the go-to brands for BMW modifications, alongside Hartge (now defunct) and Alpina (now owned by BMW)

When its current owners made the announcement of its impending closure in March, they cited factors such as over-regulation and a failure to capture younger generations with its demise.

“Steadily rising costs in the development and manufacture of parts are creating competitive disadvantages,” AC Schnitzer said in a media release.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/ac_schnitzer_s7_3.5_kat._6.jpg)

“In particular the extremely long approval process for parts in the German system has caused AC Schnitzer to fall behind its non-German competitors.”

The manufacturer also called out the US’s tariffs, raw material prices, unfavourable exchange rates and a demise of suppliers as major reasons why its business case has dried up, as well as the “gradual phase-out of the internal combustion engine”.

In addition to this, the brand lashed out at the media for portraying “buyers of vehicle enhancements through aftermarket parts” as “eccentrics or posers”.

“It is certainly also true that we - like other tuning companies - have not succeeded in inspiring young customers to enjoy sporty driving with our brand to the same extent as their fathers’ generation did,” Kohl Group managing director Rainer Vogel said.