In its Thursday
issue, the newspaper Handelsblatt was to quote BMW chief purchasing
officer Herbert Diess saying, 'we are talking about bundling our
purchasing activities in certain markets such as China and the United
States.'
They had identified a 'double digit number' of components suitable, he said.
The rival companies have been in a year of talks on jointly negotiating
for components and were already buying some parts jointly, sources
quoted by Handelsblatt said.
The items to be bought jointly would include seat-belt retraction systems and air-conditioning units.
Handelsblatt quoted the sources saying BMW and the maker of
Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks believed they could save 350 million
euros (440 million dollars) in the first year alone by teaming up to
obtain deeper discounts.
Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com