BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen are setting up a joint venture to develop and produce hybrid- power components and software in an effort to cut supply costs.
The 50-50 partnership, to be named BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification, will begin operating in the second quarter and provide parts for both manufacturers’ vehicles starting in 2014, the companies said today in a joint statement. The project will be run by Wolfgang Guellich, BMW’s head of purchasing strategy, and Jean Leflour, chief of customer satisfaction at Peugeot.
“This cooperative venture will enable us to achieve significant economies of scale in the field of electrification,” BMW Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer said in the statement. “It also represents an important step on the road to sustainable mobility.”
BMW, which has its headquarters in Munich, has cooperated since 2006 on engines with Paris-based Peugeot, Europe’s second- biggest carmaker. In February 2010, the manufacturers said they would develop 4-cylinder gasoline engines that conform with the latest European Union environmental rules. The venture announced today follows a memorandum of understanding on hybrid-power technology development signed in October.
BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification will involve suppliers in the development process and may sell products to other manufacturers, the carmakers said.
