German automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have decided to reduce the number of vehicle architectures in order to reduce costs and also speed up development.
BMW along with MINI currently have five vehicle architectures but according to a board member for research and development Herbert Diess, the number will decrease to just two platforms: one for front-wheel drive cars and the other for RWD models. However the i3 plug-in hybrid/electric and i8 plug-in hybrid will not be included in this architecture restructuring.
Mercedes-Benz head of worldwide R&D Thomas Weber also recently said that the company will reduce its number of architectures from nine in 2009 to only four (MFA, MRA, MHA, MSA). The first one will be for front-wheel drive cars (that includes A- and B-class); second one for rear-wheel drive models (C-, E-, S-Class, GLK); third one for large crossovers (ML, 2015 ML-based two-door, GL); and the fourth one for sports cars (SL, SLK and probably AMG GT).
As a result of these changes, more models within the BMW and MINI range, respectively Mercedes-Benz lineup, will share a significantly increased number of components. Weber stated that cost savings are huge while at the same time it helps improving overall quality. He also mentioned that the time required to market new or facelifted models will also go down significantly.
