The Secret Agreement Ensuring BMW Has No Problem Using Citroen’s XM Badge On Super-SUV

The colossal twin nostril grille dominating the front of the super-SUV BMW teased last week ahead of the LA Auto Show wasn’t the only controversial thing about it.

Calling the standalone X8-based XM concept raised some eyebrows among folks who remember the wedgy 1990s Citroen sedan of the same name. It’s not like anyone is likely to confuse a 700 hp SUV with a cultish French luxury saloon, but it’s still unusual for one carmaker to directly lift a name from another. Who remembers when Ford sued Ferrari over the use of its truck name on an F1 car?

According to Citroen the two carmakers have embarked on a mutual back-scratching exercise that allows each brand license to directly borrow badges, or use names that tread uncomfortably close to the other’s territory.

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Here’s what a Citroen source told CarScoops:

“[BMW’s] use of the XM name is the result of constructive dialogue between Citroën and BMW, so it’s been well discussed and considered. Effectively it’s the result of a ‘gentlemen agreement’ reflecting Citroën’s introduction of a new model combining an X and a number, namely C5 X (think BMW X5), and BMW’s desire to associate their X name with their Motorsport universe, bearing the famous M signature. Citroën keeps the right to use X in names such as CX, AX, ZX, Xantia, Xsara…and XM.”

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Which means that Citroen is allowing BMW to use the name, but also retains the ability to use it on one of its own cars, though given Citroen’s current naming strategy, that’s unlikely to happen. Technically, of course, to maintain continuity with cars like the M3, M4 and M5, BMW’s monster hybrid truck should be called MX, much like the M-lite X5M should really have been called the MX5.

But while Citroen’s XM hasn’t been in production for over 20 years, Mazda, which has both an MX-5 and MX-30 in its current portfolio probably wouldn’t be quite so accommodating.