BMW settled a 350 million euro brake dispute with Aumovio. Then it expanded the partnership with new orders on its next platform.
For Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, platform loyalty survives a dispute if the technical fit still works.
Aumovio paid BMW 350 million euros to settle a brake dispute, then received new orders as the partnership deepened. BMW also named Qualcomm as lead chip supplier for its next generation digital cockpits and driver assistance systems.
Aumovio kept its place on BMW’s next platform despite the lawsuit, because the technical relationship still worked for both sides.
The platform decision happens years before launch.
The supplier who stays on the next platform looks at three things:
Parts specified on the current platform do not guarantee a place on the next one.
A shortened supplier list can remove a Tier 1 or Tier 2 supplier overnight, even one with a long history.
Relationships that extend beyond the current model generation are the ones that carry into new sourcing decisions.
Is your current OEM relationship built for one platform, or for the next one too?
If this raises a question about where your business stands with its main OEM, a first conversation costs nothing and commits to nothing.