The motoring media has been buzzing for the past few days with talk of BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen apparently planning, or at least considering, platform sharing between future MINI and Peugeot vehicles. But looking at the root of all the speculation, a report in the Financial Times, it isn’t at all obvious where these rumours are emanating from.
Some online media, including major titles such as AutoCar, attributed the source of the story to the top level of management at BMW. But in the original source material, an article in the Financial Times, BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said that “BMW was talking to Peugeot about a deeper cooperation, but he refused to give any details”. It was, rather than an official source, those “industry insiders”, ubiquitous when a story of this nature starts rolling, who said that preliminary platform sharing talks were underway.
Other outlets reinforced the rumours by bringing in comments from the end of July from PSA Group CEO Philippe Varin, who said in a Bloomberg Television interview “Our priority is firstly to focus on our action plans and secondly to deepen when we can our existing cooperation on engines”. Again, nothing even hinting at platform sharing, but rather reinforcing a previously expressed desire to increase cooperation between PSA and their existing partners, including the BMW Group.
“But wait, haven’t we heard this all before?!” I hear the regular readers of theSwitchback murmuring to themselves. Well, yes we have, and a gold star to you all for paying attention. There has been a long running rumour suggesting that BMW have held talks with the Fiat Group about platform sharing between future MINI and small Alfa Romeo badged vehicles. More specifically back in February of 2009 BMW felt they had to come out an quash rumours that talks had begun between BMW and PSA concerning platform sharing between MINI and PSA Group (Peugeot and Citroen) cars.
Still, just because the media got a little carried away on the basis of something unknown “industry insiders” put forward, that doesn’t mean future MINI models sharing platforms should be completely ruled out.
On many levels it makes a lot of sense, especially in financial terms. BMW have increasingly been busy in recent years striking partnerships with other motor manufacturers to improve economies of scale when it comes to various components, from small parts all the way up to full engines in the case of the BMW/PSA Group units used in the MINI range. If BMW can be in control of chassis development, and another manufacturer bring increased purchasing power and a more mainstream market for BMWs efforts to be sold to, it could be a real win/win situation for all concerned.
Tags: bmw group, Platform sharing, PSA, PSA Group, rumours
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[...] plans for cooperation between BMW and the PSA Peugeot-Citroen group appear to be at least under review, if not entirely in doubt, following a report in [...]