Last week, Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche said Mercedes-Benz and BMW are making significant progress in a cooperation to build small-cars. He said there were only a few areas where cooperation would be out of the question.
Today, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he is concerned about making compact vehicles with Mercedes-Benz.
“There are clear limits. The BMW brand, which one study has valued at $24 billion, must not be diluted or the brand identity damaged,” Reithofer said in an interview.
He said that no cost saving method could possibly be more valuable than the core image of the BMW brand.
Last year, BMW dropped the idea of building the next-generation Mini on an Alfa Romeo platform after deciding that the car would not look or drive like a Mini.
- By: Omar Rana
Source: Reuters
