| Auto Bild, a German motor magazine, reported | | | | Ganal's counterpart, Mercedes sales chief |
| that BMW, the largest premium carmaker in the | | | | Klaus Maier, denied days later that there |
| world, and its closest competitor, | | | | were "any plans at present" to broaden the |
| Mercedes-Benz, are in negotiations over a | | | | partnership any further. |
| partnership in order to build subcompact | | | | |
| cars. | | | | A spokesman for Mercedes said that the brand |
| | | | retained its openness to cooperation where it |
| Without citing sources, Auto Bild said in its | | | | makes sense but reaffirmed Maier's comments |
| forthcoming Friday edition that the two | | | | that there were no current plans to broaden |
| companies are expected to make a decision in | | | | its hybrid partnership with BMW into other |
| July if the next generation Mercedes A-Class | | | | areas. |
| will be built on BMW's Mini platform. | | | | |
| | | | About BMW |
| BMW, Mini's parent company, is considering | | | | |
| finding a partner because heavy cost pressure | | | | Along with its automotive concerns such as |
| means Mini runs the risk of losing money | | | | building quality BMW emblem, the BMW Group's |
| should its Oxford, England plant not run at | | | | activities encompass the development, |
| full capacity. | | | | production and marketing of motorcycles, as |
| | | | well as comprehensive financial services for |
| Other than that, discussions could include | | | | private and business customers. |
| Honda and existing partner PSA, and Mercedes, | | | | |
| its arch-rival. | | | | With BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, |
| | | | the group is the only car maker in the world |
| For its part, Mercedes has reportedly planned | | | | to pursue a purely premium strategy for all |
| on building the next A-Class in 2012 on a | | | | market sectors covered by its brands, from |
| platform to be developed together with | | | | exclusive smaller cars to top-of-the-range |
| Chrysler. But these plans have been dropped | | | | luxury limousines. |
| after parent company DaimlerChrysler have | | | | |
| disposed majority of its stake in the | | | | Other business interests of the group are |
| loss-making U.S. carmaker. | | | | insurance (Bavaria Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH), |
| | | | IT consulting and systems integration |
| Michael Ganal, BMW's sales and marketing | | | | (Softlab GmbH). |
| head, suggested early last month in an | | | | |
| interview with German business magazine | | | | About Mercedes-Benz |
| WirtschaftsWoche the expansion of its current | | | | |
| cooperation with Mercedes, which develops | | | | Since then, German car maker Mercedes-Benz is |
| hybrid powertrains, into other fields also. | | | | the pioneer in innovations, striking design |
| | | | and industry-leading safety features that are |
| A BMW spokesperson said that Ganal was | | | | sure to impress. It has also pioneered |
| generally speaking on the possible further | | | | reduction of CO2 emission, comfort for high |
| partnerships. | | | | mileage drivers, and driving dynamics. |
| | | | |