Mercedes-Benz wants to increase the component sharing between its models.
In an interview with Automotive News, Thomas Weber, board member of R&D for Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, said that the carmaker wants share as many components as possible between models in an attempt to reduce costs. Current new models already shares components such as powertrains and electronic devices.
Sharing components enables the carmaker to cut cost, but also to increase reliability. However, it also put constraints on designers and designers which can’t create unique designs any more.
The E-Class and C-Class already shares 50% of components, while the GLK and the C-Class are built on the same assembly lines despite featuring radically different designs. The future SLC will share its electric components with the next-generation E-Class. Thomas Weber even revealed that the S-Class flagship and the Smart ForTwo share 5% of their components.
Leave a Reply