Daimler, BMW say cooperation talks still ongoing

German carmakers Daimler and BMW on Saturday dismissed a report that they had ended talks on possible cooperation without success.

Asked about the report, due to be published in the next issue of Der Spiegel magazine on January 18, a spokesman for Daimler said: "We continue to talk to BMW," declining to give details of the status of the talks.

A BMW spokesman said talks about a purchasing cooperation were still being held.

Der Spiegel said in pre-release abstracts of its story that the one year-old talks had failed and there were no dates set for a return to the table or topics left for discussion.

Daimler said in December it was talking to various manufacturers including French peer Renault about options for cooperation.