BMW And PSA Agree On Joint Development Of Hybrid Technology

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Developing new cars costs a good deal of money. Developing new power trains costs a huge pile of money with unsure payback. So what do you do when you are on the bottom rungs of the Top Ten, or god forbid if you traipse around somewhere in the twenties and if you have neither the money to invest nor the volume to quickly amortize your investment? You find friends to share the burden. This is what PSA and BMW do.

The French and the Bavarians will develop hybrid power trains together, reports the German daily FAZ.

According to the paper, both parties have signed a binding contract. PSA and BMW had been in talks for a while. The idea is to share know-how, money, and volume. PSA brings the volume, BMW the engineering.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Virages Virages on Feb 01, 2011

    So PSA is doing the "through-the-road" hybrid system that has a standard front drive layout with electrical assist to the rear wheels to have a hybrid AWD. So will BMW do the same thing, but in reverse? A longitudinal engine powering the rear wheels with electrical assists on the front? Or are they going to have the same layout? Hmmm, this news makes for more questions!

  • Kitzler Kitzler on Feb 01, 2011

    Thank God BMW is doing the engineering, otherwise you might end up saying 'sacrebleu"; my answer to French automotive engineering!

  • J Mendez J Mendez on Feb 01, 2011

    I think they will review both systems, actually PSA had a 307 Hybrid, IIRC, so far.. I would like to upgrade the headlights of our 3008 THP to the ones on the hybrid! LOL Which btw has the BMW/PSA THP engine. Good note Mr Schmitt!

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