8 September 2010 | Helen Gilbert

BMW has predicted an expanded car-part purchasing partnership with Daimler will help generate savings of around €100 million (£82 million) a year from 2012/2013.

The pair have worked together for the past two years to negotiate better prices and currently purchase more than 10 components together.

BMW procurement chief Herbert Diess reportedly told Reuters about the expansion plans, adding: “We are satisfied with the co-operation. That will pay off over the years.”

A spokesman for the automotive giant confirmed it was looking to expand the number of vehicle parts it currently buys jointly with Daimler. They would not, however, specify the nature of the components or provide details on the expansion of the collaboration.

“Discussions are ongoing. We might expand if we find further parts and components to buy together,” he said.

A Daimler spokesman added: “We are not making any forward projections of this kind. The co-operation has been going on for a while and is going well. We focus only on component areas that are not relevant for brand differentiation.”

In July 2009, Supply Management reported that BMW and Daimler aimed to extend their collaborative procurement agreement having identified more car parts they could source together.

They believed they could work together on the purchase of 10 per cent of the total components both firms needed without infringing the different designs of their vehicles.

At the time a BMW spokesman told SM the companies had opened negotiations with suppliers on the matter and the parts they were looking to purchase included electronics.