A new report claims that Daimler AG and the BMW Group are considering working together on more than just mobility solutions, and could join forces to make key automotive components.
Possibilities being considered range from joint vehicle platforms, batteries and autonomous car technology, persons familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. These collaborations are said to be restricted to technology that’s not brand-specific.
With pressure mounting to invest in autonomous vehicles and battery-powered tech, automakers have begun considering teaming up with rivals in a bid to cut costs. The best example of such a collaboration is the one between Volkswagen and Ford, who are negotiating a deal surrounding vans and potentially autonomous vehicles as well.
Both Daimler as well as BMW have registered lower profits this year, mostly because of trade tensions and rising development investments. Moving forward, Daimler will look to add 10 electric vehicles to their lineup over the next four years, whereas BMW will offer 12 EV models by 2025.
Unlikely alliance
While two bigger rivals than Mercedes and BMW would be hard to find in the automotive industry, the two German automakers already share a working relationship on components purchasing and even bought digital-mapping company HERE Technologies for 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in 2015, together with Audi.
This year, the two agreed to combine their car-sharing platforms Car2Go and DriveNow, a deal that received approval from all antitrust authorities earlier this week.
