DaimlerChrysler won't share Mercedes platforms

Brand-conscious DaimlerChrysler managers in Germany are very vocal about the fact that they're not interested in any platform sharing between the Mercedes brand and the others under the corporate umbrella. "A Mercedes will remain a Mercedes and will not share a platform with anyone," said Dr. Ruediger Grube, Board of Management, DaimlerChrysler Corporate Development. "We will leave that to the others," he added. The concern is that cost-savvy shoppers would eschew the flagship Mercedes brand if they felt they could spend less to get fundamentally the same vehicle with another corporate sibling's badges on it.

Dr. Grube told labor union leaders in Stuttgart that the manufacturer would have to look for opportunities to cut costs in other places, such as small parts that are under the skin and through efficiencies in purchasing and data systems.

[Source: just-auto (Sub req'd)]