Seemingly out of nowhere, rumors surfaced last month about a potential tie-up between BMW and Mercedes. Reports from Germany’s Manager Magazin and the UK’s Autocar suggested the two luxury giants were exploring an unlikely partnership, with Stuttgart allegedly set to source four-cylinder gasoline engines from Munich.
However, Mercedes is now flat-out denying the story. Speaking at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich, Chief Technology Officer Markus Schäfer dismissed the reports, telling Motor1 Italy the three-pointed star will not use BMW’s B48 engine:
“There is no truth to this. We have developed our own new family of modular engines, the FAME (Family of Modular Engines), which covers all displacements and is already ready to meet EU7, China 7, and US regulations.”
The supposed alliance was said to be born out of necessity. According to the initial reports, Mercedes was searching for a compact gasoline engine for plug-in hybrid applications, as its M252 was apparently not fully suited for PHEVs. The engine was also believed to be incompatible with EVs using range-extending technology. In these cars, the gas engine serves as a generator to charge the battery on the go, much like in the i3 REx.
That’s why Mercedes was rumored to have turned to BMW. The move would have accelerated development, reduced costs, and brought PHEVs to market faster and at lower prices. And it wasn’t just compact cars like the CLA and GLA that were reportedly in line for BMW power. Both the C-Class and E-Class were also considered candidates for the B48, along with other models.
Schäfer has now put the speculation to rest, stressing the company has no plans to borrow hardware from another automaker, especially not its biggest rival. From the start, the tie-up seemed questionable given Mercedes’ existing partnership with Geely. The Chinese automaker has a joint venture with Renault, known as Horse, focused on electrified combustion engines.
Realistically, it makes far more sense for Mercedes to work with Geely than with BMW. I can hardly think of two less likely manufacturers to join forces. Still, as the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire, so perhaps there was some truth behind those early reports. We’ll probably never know.
Source: Motor1 Italy
