The pair-up would also mean faster development times for new products.
German automotive houses BMW & Daimler are famed for their rivalry, but it seems that the two companies are prepared to put that well and truly behind them for the sake of long-term relevance. With automotive startups capitalising on the electric mobility trend and sprouting up like mushrooms, Daimler & BMW could seek a partnership that’ll see them jointly-develop vehicle platforms, resulting in an estimated financial saving of very-nearly €7-billion each.
In fact, there could be savings greater than that according to Sueddutsche Zeitung, should they expand the scope of the platform-development further than the compact- and mid-size segments that it presently targets. While this would undoubtedly make the accountants in both Munich & Stuttgart happy, that would mean that the flagship cars of both companies would be related, which makes even us a little uncomfortable.
But as Auto Bild reports, the two companies already maintain a joint procurement program, and have expanded their cooperation to include the development of driver assistance systems and mobility services, and this would merely be adding another facet of their operations into the mix.
Daimler & BMW would seek to develop platforms that are “electric first” it seems, while retaining the ability to accommodate internal-combustion, mild-hybrid, and plug-in hybrid powertrains, which would likely result in the two firms being able to service every customer demand for every market globally.
While both carmakers have acknowledged that they are looking into tackling driverless cars together, they have both remained steadfast in their silence about that cooperation going any further. That said, back in November, BMW’s finance boss said that his firm is open to deepening the collaboration with Daimler, but them Daimler retorted that it was not easy to determine areas of mutual-profitability insofar as shared vehicle platforms were concerned.
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