Rumors of collaboration between BMW and the PSA Group

According to some media outlets, BMW and the Peugeot-Citroën Group would be considering a partnership to build a mid-size car with front-wheel drive, bearing the BMW badge. This car would be a variant, or perhaps a new variant, of the BMW 1 Series, but with front-wheel drive.

There are also reports that both brands would jointly develop a modular platform shared by future Mini models and the successors of the Citroën C3 and C4, the Peugeot 308 and the upcoming 208.

Basically, this would mean that the front ends of all the models mentioned would be technically identical, leaving each brand responsible for designing its own bodywork from the middle of the car backwards, quite literally. It sounds a little strange, but apparently it is the basis of the agreement between the two, in addition to the front-wheel-drive 1 Series.

BMW has never offered a front-wheel-drive model, and who knows how the “Frenchified” 1 Series would fare, but according to a BMW spokesperson, this would be done in pursuit of better consumption and emissions, which would favour the adoption of front-wheel drive. Fortunately for BMW purists, this would not arrive before 2018.

Source | Autocar