VW, Ford team up on trucks, eye deals on EVs, self-driving cars

Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co Tuesday they will join forces on commercial vans and pickups and are exploring joint development of electric and self-driving technology, actions meant to save the automakers billions of dollars.

Ford and VW announced their partnership against the backdrop of the Detroit auto show. The tie-up, which starts with sales of vans and medium-sized pickups in 2022, will not involve a merger or equity stakes, the companies said.

“It is no secret that our industry is undergoing fundamental change, resulting from widespread electrification, ever stricter emission regulation, digitization, the shift towards autonomous driving, and not least the changing customer preferences,” Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess told reporters and analysts on a conference call.

“Carmakers around the globe therefore are investing heavily to align their portfolios to future needs and accelerate their innovation cycles,” he added. “In such an environment, it just makes sense to share investment.”

A deal centered around vans and pickups had been expected. Investors are now focused on the potential for additional deals they believe could offer greater savings. Those include potential deals around development of electric or self-driving vehicles, as well as combining forces in markets including North America, South America, Europe or China.

The two CEOs did not discuss in detail alliances in specific markets including Latin America, where Ford is losing money.

The expanding alliance, which will be governed by a joint committee that includes the CEOs of both companies, highlights the growing pressure on global automakers to manage the costs of developing electric and self-driving vehicles, as well as technology to meet tougher emissions standards for millions of internal combustion vehicles they will sell in coming years.

“You can’t do this alone,” Ford’s chief executive, Jim Hackett, said on the call.

Ford will provide more details on how the alliance affects Ford’s regional operations in coming weeks, but does not expect any job cuts in its plants as a result of the alliance, he said.

Ford will engineer and build medium-sized pickups for both companies, Volkswagen said. Ford officials said the VW pickups will initially be available only in the South American, European and African markets.

 

 

 

 

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