After reporting that top German auto makers BMW and Daimler are planning to perform a cross ownership a couple of days ago, and both companies may exchange up to 7% of shares among each other, German-based Der Spiegel magazine has now revealed the BMW’s single largest shareholder, the Quandt family which holds 46% of the Munich based auto maker is against such a deal.
As mentioned earlier, the Quandt family is worried that Daimler, which owns the Mercedes Benz brand might end up wanting to take over BMW, just like how it took over Chrysler in the later 1990’s. However, an interview with a BMW executive revealed that the 7% exchange in shares is just a speculation in the first place, and that both companies only have an agreement to share purchasing costs for certain parts.
This means that nothing is concrete, since one is saying a different thing, while the other is saying another. We will just have to play the waiting game. On the different note, BMW has a similar agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroen, where BMW develops the 1.6 litre petrol engine, which is mostly found in the MINI and in return, the PSA Group helps drive down production costs for both companies with its high purchasing power.
The deal is for 1 million engines where BMW keeps 200,000 for itself, while the PSA Peugeot Citroen keeps 800,000. This is why you can find the 1.6 litre engine from the MINI in the recently launched Peugeot 308. BMW is also planning to work together with Fiat to develop new platforms for small sized vehicles, which may spawn the production of the BMW Isetta and the Fiat Topolino.
Check it out after the jump.
