Such a move helps both makes to defer some development costs through joint engineering, BMW, for example, may benefit from Fiat's front wheel drive experience and Fiat from BMW's engineering prowess.
Also a possibility, is the joint development of the next generation of motors to power the cars as well.
Our take? Transitioning from an Anglo-German original to a French-powered successor (the current MINI has a Peugeot/PSA shared motor), an Italian-German MINI could, perhaps, prove to be the best of the lot. German engineering with Italian soul and style has long sought after combination.
via Automobile Magazine