Mercedes-Benz Cars Could Use BMW Engines in the Future – Report

Mercedes-Benz is reportedly in advanced talks to potentially use BMW’s four-cylinder petrol engines for its future models.

Parts sharing is quite common in the automotive industry, although it is quite rare to see two rival automakers practice it. However, history is about to be made again, as Mercedes-Benz is reportedly in advanced talks to potentially use sworn rival BMW’s engines for its future combustion models.

A Mercedes insider told Autocar UK that the two German automotive giants are now actively planning and negotiating for the engine sharing, and an announcement on whether it will go ahead will be made by the end of this year.

Mercedes-Benz GLC (left) & E-Class (right)

This revelation was initially unearthed by Germany’s Manager Magazin, which reported that BMW might supply engines for Merc’s next-gen ICE lineups, which include familiar nameplates like the CLA, GLA, GLB, C-Class, E-Class, and GLC, to name a few.

What prompts Mercedes to proceed with this negotiation is the radical U-turn to its EV-only plans, where the German automaker is rethinking its ICE product strategy for the future due to slow take-up of its EVs. More importantly, the agreement between these two rivals is being framed as a “strategic step to cut development costs.”

For Mercedes, this partnership would help the company secure a Euro-7-compliant engine supply, which is crucial to the continuation of its ICE-powered lineup. On top of that, the guaranteed engine supply will also help Merc to expand its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offerings without further heavy investment in engine development.

Should this partnership come into fruition, it won’t be a first for Merc in recent years, as the automaker previously partnered with Horse—a joint venture between Geely and Renault—to produce its new M252 engine in China. Said engine is already offered in the new CLA, which comes in both full combustion and mild hybrid (MHEV) versions.

However, Merc’s insider notes that while the M252 engine is suitable for MHEV applications, it is not engineered for PHEV or range-extender (REEV) use, and this is where BMW potentially comes in.

Both the G60 BMW 530i M Sport (left) and MINI Countryman S All4 (right) use the same B48 engine.

The BMW engine in question could potentially be the 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbocharged B48 engine, which is currently used in almost every BMW and MINI model, ranging from the G20 3 Series, the G60 5 Series, the new G45 X3, and even the whole lineup of MINI combustion models.

Unlike Merc’s M252, the B48 is claimed to offer better versatility, as not only can it be adopted for semi-electrified applications, but it can also be packaged for both longitudinal and transverse layouts—giving Mercedes more flexibility across both its compact and mid-sized models.

On a broader scale, this proposed partnership could also extend to global production hubs, including a potential shared engine plant in the US to sidestep rising import tariffs.

Source: Autocar UK