By the late-1950s BMW found itself in a tricky position, their luxury cars weren't selling in large enough numbers, their bubble cars were popular but profits per vehicle were tiny, meaning that the company was heavily in debt and losing money. The car that would eventually help turn things around, the 700, had just entered production in August but that would take time. Things were so bad that the company was seriously considering bankruptcy, which prompted Daimler-Benz to make an offer to buy the company - the idea was that BMW would build car bodies for Daimler-Benz, that the head of the management board presented to the board as the only viable option other than bankruptcy. At a meeting in December the board almost voted to accept the offer with a few hold-outs only just managing to delay the vote until the following meeting, one of them being Herbert Quandt. Quandt, who had originally been in favour of the deal, against all financial advice started buying up shares in BMW until he owned more than half and the rest is history.
So what happens in Quandt doesn't have a change of heart and the board of BMW votes through the takeover offer? Some of the people working in research and design will likely transfer over but since Daimler-Benz already has a full complement they'll have to fight for a spot so you won't see a straight cross over. Daimler-Benz might continue production of the 700, albeit at their own plants, if they see that it's popular but that's no guarantee of a New Class appearing. Who takes over BMW's place in the market? I honestly don't know enough about the German, or European, automotive industry of the period to guess.
So what happens in Quandt doesn't have a change of heart and the board of BMW votes through the takeover offer? Some of the people working in research and design will likely transfer over but since Daimler-Benz already has a full complement they'll have to fight for a spot so you won't see a straight cross over. Daimler-Benz might continue production of the 700, albeit at their own plants, if they see that it's popular but that's no guarantee of a New Class appearing. Who takes over BMW's place in the market? I honestly don't know enough about the German, or European, automotive industry of the period to guess.