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Odd bedfellow rumor: BMW & Mercedes?

Sunday, 03. 8. 2009  –  Category: BMW News, Main

Our friends at Autoblog.nl tipped us off to the fact that Der Spiegel, (think Time or Newsweek) is reporting that BMW is in discussions about taking a 7% stake in Daimler, and that Daimler would reciprocate with an equal stake in BMW. While the two companies are in talks about sharing resources in R&D and purchasing/procurement, an actual ownership stake would constitute even closer ties. The Quandt family (who own 46% of BMW, believe it or not) is quite opposed to the idea, fearing that Mercedes will eventually swallow up BMW as it did after the “merger of equals” with Chrysler.

We understand times are tough for luxury car makers, and that there’s significant cost savings to be found in shared resourcing, something about this move seems… off, like Pepsi & Coke announcing a merger. Der Spiegel quoted a BMW manager as saying: “We will get closer together through this cooperation; perhaps more will come out of it.”. First, we’ll have to see if the German government would let a move like this slide past their anti-trust laws.

Tags: BMW, BMW Group