Mercedes versus BMW: who has the better small car strategy?

In the small car segment, B MW and Mercedes definitely go their separate ways. Mercedes is working on the successor generations of the A- and B-Class, which are slowly growing out of their infancy.

Based on the Mercedes B-Class will in future be a family with a van, four-door coupe and small off-roader called BLK. Underneath it, however, there should also be a Mercedes A-Class successor to be positioned, which has nothing to do with the van-like design of the current generation. With a length of a good four meters, the new A-Class will compete in the golf segment from 2013 and not only gain prey with dynamic driving characteristics. In addition, Mercedes is still negotiating with Renault, looking for new platforms in the small car segment.

BMW boss Norbert Reithofer, on the other hand, has meanwhile categorically ruled out collaborations with other car manufacturers and only wants to conclude closer contracts with suppliers. Small cars should come from the so-called project i. It will begin in 2014 with a megacity vehicle that, with a high proportion of aluminum and carbon fiber, weighs less than 1,000 kilograms and is expected to stretch over a length of 3.60 meters. At the electric 1er , which is on the Detroit Auto Show debuts in January, it concerns First of all, a finger exercise - as with the E-Mini, which is being tested in prototype form in field trials. Daimler wants to attract customers with the electric smart and lithium-ion battery from 2012.