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- Portsmouth, Hampshire.
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- E55K SL500 E250X2 Smart44 Brabus Track car E450Cabriolet X350 Pick up
Seamster15
MB Enthusiast
Will quality go up or down?
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- May 5, 2004
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- W169 A, W205 C, R172 SLC, W447 vantastic
Interesting that the view is Mercedes may try to take a controlling stake in BMW and not the other way round.
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- His - Denim Blue A220 AMG Line Premium / Hers - Obsidian Black R172 SLK55
Quite a fascinating marriage that would be, and definitely one of unequals.
Putting the question of image to one side, both companies have different problems: Mercedes has been hamstrung by its need to keep shareholders happy by paying dividends while the Quandt family's substantial holding in BMW has allowed the latter to make more long term investments with lower rates of return, hence their current engine technology advantage. However, BMW's whole business plan has been built on rapid and ever-growing volumes and thus market share - a policy that has very clearly left the rails in the last 6 months - while Mercedes hasn't been, and isn't, reliant upon such rapid growth. Which one is strongest? Who knows, but the Quandt family's reported concerns may give a clue.
Putting the question of image to one side, both companies have different problems: Mercedes has been hamstrung by its need to keep shareholders happy by paying dividends while the Quandt family's substantial holding in BMW has allowed the latter to make more long term investments with lower rates of return, hence their current engine technology advantage. However, BMW's whole business plan has been built on rapid and ever-growing volumes and thus market share - a policy that has very clearly left the rails in the last 6 months - while Mercedes hasn't been, and isn't, reliant upon such rapid growth. Which one is strongest? Who knows, but the Quandt family's reported concerns may give a clue.
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
Joking aside, the world is rapidly changing with regard to cars. Volumes are going to remain smaller for the foreseeable future. Some companies WILL go to the wall. Its inevitable.
Would you rather see Mercedes collaborating with BMW or some other lesser marque such as a non-European name or maybe another USA name?
If Mercedes did HAVE to get in bed with another big name I would rather it be BMW than almost any other.
Not that I want that to happen of course....................
Would you rather see Mercedes collaborating with BMW or some other lesser marque such as a non-European name or maybe another USA name?
If Mercedes did HAVE to get in bed with another big name I would rather it be BMW than almost any other.
Not that I want that to happen of course....................
hawk20
MB Enthusiast
City sources already suggest that there are numerous common parts on the E class and 5 series.
And well known they have been talking about the new A and B and Mini. Mini used to have a Chrysler engine.
Sharing parts is one thing. A merger would not make sense IMO.
And well known they have been talking about the new A and B and Mini. Mini used to have a Chrysler engine.
Sharing parts is one thing. A merger would not make sense IMO.
NewMB
Active Member
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- Colchester, UK + Köln, Germany
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- 2012 535D F11 Sport (Touring)
Interesting that the view is Mercedes may try to take a controlling stake in BMW and not the other way round.
Yes, especially as BMW is the one with the money.....
st4
Banned
Well, VAG are a massive car making empire and they have much greater economies of scale than either MB or BMW. I'd rather see them stay separate as these are very different car makers but a merger is better than seeing both go bust.
jdrrco
MB Enthusiast
Dave Lewis
Active Member
Here's a hellish vision: badge-engineering 
. Same car, with either a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes grille. With the Benz the most expensive of course. BMW as the entry level version. Audi for middle management.
*shudder*
. Same car, with either a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes grille. With the Benz the most expensive of course. BMW as the entry level version. Audi for middle management.*shudder*
crockers
MB Enthusiast
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Personally I don't see the fit - both have similar images / market etc - so sales may drop...makes more sense to merge with a company into areas you aren't - say Honda........
Now that will set the cat amongst the pigeons
Now that will set the cat amongst the pigeons
I've always read the opposite. Strange.
imadoofus
MB Enthusiast
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Well we could end up with some badly built, really ugly cars.
Or the other alternative
Or the other alternative
scumbag
MB Enthusiast
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Together we stand, divided we fall.
Better to remain around, joined at the hip, than dead and buried and only around in the memories of old people?
Better to remain around, joined at the hip, than dead and buried and only around in the memories of old people?
bored_welsh_lad
New Member
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- 18
It sound like a good partnership as long as they still keep the divide and dont start to do the stupid "Ford/Mazda" thing where they created the fiesta and rebadged it as a bloody mazda
I read the article as only parts to be shared. So as long as the customer never sees those parts, they will never know.
Both OEMs have a similar brand philosophy, so together they will be able to lean on the Tier 1 with greater weight saving themselves £millions.
Both OEMs have a similar brand philosophy, so together they will be able to lean on the Tier 1 with greater weight saving themselves £millions.
nick mercedes
MB Enthusiast
Latest Fiesta is a rebadged Mazda...
grober
MB Master
plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose
ATE TEXTAR LEMFORDER BILSTEIN BOGE BEHR BOSCH MANN KNECHT REINZ FEBI CONTITECH SACHS HELLA SIEMENS PIERBURG ERNST ERBERSPACHER HJS SKF GKN ZF BREMBO PAGID BERU HOPPECKE VARTA ZIMMERMANN ULO are just some of the manufacturer names of components already shared by BMW and Mercedes so no change there. I reckon they need to collaborate to rapidly produce a range of small economic cars to meet new European emission regulations. An area they have understandably failed to prioritise until now. The Mini was essentially a pre "BMW acquisition" development
( altho they have run with it 
when they saw it was a success albeit with a range of powerplants sourced externally to BMW itself) and the first MB A class showed a degree of niavety in small car design- overpriced complex engineering
with cut price manufacturing standards was hardly a good start. If as I suspect MB hoped to take market share from the VW golf with the A class it has to be said it was a pretty much a failure. Perhaps the lesson of successful badge engineering is already there with VW with the undoubted success of the shared powerplants and chassis of SKODA,SEAT,VW, AUDI which have retained a degree of individual brand identity despite their common ancestry.
ATE TEXTAR LEMFORDER BILSTEIN BOGE BEHR BOSCH MANN KNECHT REINZ FEBI CONTITECH SACHS HELLA SIEMENS PIERBURG ERNST ERBERSPACHER HJS SKF GKN ZF BREMBO PAGID BERU HOPPECKE VARTA ZIMMERMANN ULO are just some of the manufacturer names of components already shared by BMW and Mercedes so no change there.
I reckon they need to collaborate to rapidly produce a range of small economic cars to meet new European emission regulations. An area they have understandably failed to prioritise until now. The Mini was essentially a pre "BMW acquisition" development ( altho they have run with it when they saw it was a success albeit with a range of powerplants sourced externally to BMW itself) and the first MB A class showed a degree of niavety in small car design- overpriced complex engineering with cut price manufacturing standards was hardly a good start. If as I suspect MB hoped to take market share from the VW golf with the A class it has to be said it was a pretty much a failure. Perhaps the lesson of successful badge engineering is already there with VW with the undoubted success of the shared powerplants and chassis of SKODA,SEAT,VW, AUDI which have retained a degree of individual brand identity despite their common ancestry.
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hawk20
MB Enthusiast
I quite agree. When you merge companies making similar products you nearly always lose combined sales.
At the moment you've got Mercedes and BMW as the top two brands with Jaguar, Volvo, Audi and Saab in the next tier. As there is over-supply of luxury cars the sensible solution would be to lose the loss makers (Jaguar, Volvo and Saab) leaving the others to make money. But will a free market arrive at the optimal solution? For some reason I doubt it. Govts will interfere and help the loss-makers survive.
