According to reports, BMW and South Korean automaker, Hyundai are currently in talks about developing a new engine family together. The talks are to help shoulder some of the roughly $1.3-2.6 billion cost of developing a new engine family. BMW already has engine partnerships with PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota, but now it has a new joint venture with Hyundai.

According to Automobil Produktion, Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-koo’s son, Chung Eui-sun met with a small group of BMW managers in Munich. Reuters confirmed with a source that “The talks are at early stages”. Another source confirmed that the two automakers have been talking about a possible alliance that would see them jointly developing an engine and sharing the development costs equally. By sharing the costs, both the companies can leverage a larger budget to enjoy reduced overall costs that come with larger volume.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer denied talks about the partnership. “Further co-operation partners are currently not foreseen,” he said. A Hyundai Motor spokesman said that the report is “groundless” as no such meetings took place.

via CarScoop