When it formed an alliance with General Motors last February, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-biggest car manufacturer, said that this would not affect its partnerships with other manufacturers.
Yet according to Agence France-Presse, Peugeot’s head of R&D Gauillaume Faury said that the French group would end its joint venture with BMW on hybrid research that was established in February 2011, and continue with GM instead.
While Peugeot spokesperson Laure de Servigny confirmed the report, BMW spokesman Frank Wienstroth said that “no decisions have currently been made on how the joint venture will be shaped in the future”.
BMW had said in July that it was already examining the option of terminating the agreement with Peugeot following the French carmaker’s alliance with GM.
The Munich-based luxury brand has another research agreement in place: on June 29, it signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Toyota, which is currently the leader in hybrid vehicle sales, to collaborate on electric powertrains, fuel cells and lightweight materials development.
By Andrew Tsaousis
Story References: Bloomberg News
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