FAMILY TIES
Carmakers are increasingly sharing components with rivals to save money
The Takata airbag recall shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the fact that car brands share components and technology with their rivals. The scandal, which affected 100 million cars from more than 30 brands, highlighted the fact that Ferrari and BMW use the same airbag inflators as common Hondas and Fords.
It’s not something that makes the glossy brochures, but sharing door locks, airconditioning units and windscreen wiper motors across models has been part of the industry for decades.
Early Lexuses had Toyota logos on their windows, while Holden and Toyota shared entire models in a short-lived joint venture from 1987 to 1996.
Now sharing is back in vogue. The latest Toyota Supra has “Made by BMW” on its build plate. The Supra is a “twin under the skin” with the BMW Z4 and shares the German car’s chassis and engine.
The trend isn’t necessarily bad news for buyers. Both cars wouldn’t exist without the cost savings realised by the unusual pairing.
SHARING THE LOVE
The Volkswagen Group is arguably best at sharing components across a diverse range of brands. The upcoming V8-powered Touareg SUV has serious pedigree under the bonnet. The twin-turbocharged diesel is a tweaked version of the engine from the Audi SQ7 and Bentley Bentayga.
The Volkswagen also shares much of its underbody structure with the Porsche Cayenne and Lamborghini Urus.
BIG IS BEAUTIFUL
Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi have formed an alliance to jointly produce new vehicles and also have a “co-operation” with Daimler, parent of Mercedes-Benz.
Renault’s Kadjar is a twin-under-the-skin of Nissan’s Qashqai, as are the Nissan X-Trail and Renault Koleos. The suspension and floors are shared, while the bits people see — the panels, the dashboard and the finishes — are bespoke.
While the Koleos and X-Trail share an engine, the Kadjar has its own 1.3-litre turbo Renault engine. To further tangle the web, the Renault’s four-cylinder forms the basis for that used in the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, B-Class, CLA and upcoming GLA.
RETAINING CHARACTER
Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester says partnerships should benefit all parties. “You bring technology quicker to market to be able to leverage economies of scale to deliver the best outcomes to the business.”
In many cases shoppers are none the wiser, but Lester says it is critical that each brand retains its identity.
“One of the hallmarks of the alliance for Nissan is the importance of each brand being able to maintain their distinct DNA.”
Dr Adas Merzaei, a senior lecturer in branding and marketing at Macquarie University, says the emotion created from the design of a car — inside and out — is more important than the components that lie beneath.
“Brands have realised that they need to shift their focus in terms of branding, in terms of marketing, into that consumer brand relationship via injecting more emotion and humanising it.”
STABLEMATES
Hyundai and Kia — part of the same parent company — share components in a big way, too.
Engines, platforms and other components are liberally applied across models, even the group’s fledgling luxury marque Genesis.
The Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento share diesel and petrol engines, while the Genesis G70 shares its 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 with the Kia Stinger.
HITS AND MISSES
Mazda and Ford have co-operated with each other for years, most recently with the BT-50 and Ranger utes, which share engines and come from the same Thai factory.
That relationship recently soured and the pair have found new partners for their nextgeneration utes.
Ford’s next Ranger will share engineering and components with Volkswagen’s new Amarok, although their exterior designs are expected to be very different. Mazda meanwhile has turned to Isuzu and the upcoming BT-50 and D-Max utes will share the same Isuzu engine.
There’s a limit to what the customer will accept, though, as Mercedes-Benz has learned.
Its recently-departed X-Class ute was a resounding flop, as buyers shied away from a vehicle with Nissan underpinnings.
Dr Merzaei says there are boundaries.
“Economies of scale, benefits around cost: these are all motivations for brands to go with component sharing,” says Dr Merzaei. “But at the end of the day they have to be super careful with the choices of component sharing.”
PUMP UP THE VOLUME
Often, low-volume vehicles such as sports cars share components with other brands purely to make the numbers stack up. For an industry that works on scale, selling fewer than 50,000 of a model can be tough.
Sit in the Abarth 124, for example, and you don’t need to be an enthusiast to spot similarities with the Mazda MX-5. The two share a platform and interior, although Abarth opted for its own engine and a bolder nose.
The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are all but identical.
The Audi TT shares plenty with an A3, which in turn shares with the Golf and Skoda’s Octavia.
MERGER MANIA
Mergers and takeovers have been widespread.
The latest sees Fiat and Chrysler (FCA) joining forces with Peugeot, Citroen and Opel (PSA) to form Stellantis. Already FCA’s Italian brands, including Fiat, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, have shared engines, platforms and more with the likes of Jeep, Chrysler and Ram.
Now Peugeot, Citroen and Opel have joined the family, opening new possibilities to spread the love further. The challenge will be getting the balance right.
SADDLE UP FOR MORE
As car makers begin to embrace electric vehicles, expect the sharing to go up a gear. Electric motors don’t define a car like a petrol engine does and very few customers will care who made their battery. Instead, it’ll be the design, functionality and increasingly-important connectivity that will split a Tesla from an Audi, Porsche or Nissan.