Ford, VW steer new road together
Auto giants seal deal to build commercial, electric and self-drive vehicles
The Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group have announced a series of new partnerships to meet the growing demand for commercial, electric and self-drive vehicles.
The two automotive giants signed a clutch of agreements to underpin the new alliance, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday.
In terms of the deals, they would make up to 8-million units of medium pickup trucks and commercial vans over the life cycle of the vehicles as part of the alliance, which was first announced last year.
The automakers will collaborate on a city van built by Volkswagen based on the latest Caddy, a 1-ton cargo van developed by Ford, and a medium pickup built on the Ford Ranger platform which will be sold by Volkswagen as the Amarok, beginning in 2022.
Ford, the No 2 US carmaker, would also develop a new electric vehicle for Europe based on Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive toolkit by 2023, and deliver more than 600,000 units over several years.
The vehicle will expand on Ford’s zero-emission capabilities, the statement said.
Volkswagen Group CEO Dr Herbert Diess said the agreements were signed at an important time.
“In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on the global economy, more than ever it is vital to set up resilient alliances between strong companies.
“This collaboration will efficiently drive down development costs, allowing broader global distribution of electric and commercial vehicles, and enhance the positions of both companies.”
The companies will also develop an autonomous-vehicle business based on Argo AI’s self-driving technology.
Last week, Volkswagen closed a $2.6bn (R44bn) investment in Argo AI, Ford’s self-driving cars venture, which is now jointly controlled by the alliance.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett said it was an exciting period for the auto industry.
“This alliance comes at a time of tremendous enthusiasm about the intersection of increasingly intelligent, connected vehicles in an eversmarter world.
“This creates a huge opportunity to innovate and solve many of the world’s transportation challenges and deliver extraordinary benefits to customers — even as companies need to be selective about how they use their cash.”
Ford and Volkswagen both had strong commercial van and pickup businesses around the world, including popular models such as Ford’s Transit and Ranger and Volkswagen’s Transporter, Crafter, Caddy and Amarok, he said.
Ford COO Jim Farley said the alliance would offer leverage in the key commercial vehicle sector.
“Commercial vehicles are fundamental to Ford today and an area where we will accelerate and grow.
“Working with Volkswagen on these platforms will provide both of us significant financial advantages in things like engineering and tooling.
“Separately, Ford will add battery electric versions of the Transit and the F-150 in the next 24 months to commercial customers who increasingly need zero emissions and the power of connectivity, data and artificial intelligence.”
Volkswagen commercial vehicles board chair Thomas Sedran said the alliance dovetailed with the company’s existing plans.
“The collaboration with Ford is a key building block of our GRIP 2025+ strategy to transform ourselves from a pure carmaker to a mobility service provider, and part of the current transformation of Volkswagen commercial vehicles.
“This long-term co-operation with Ford will strengthen our very good position in area of light commercial vehicles, especially in our core European markets, and is proof that we are successfully implementing our plan step by step.”
According to the statement, Ford’s use of Volkswagen’s modular electronic drive architecture in Europe would represent another cornerstone in VW electric vehicle strategy and would further efforts by both companies to fulfil their commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change emission cuts.
Volkswagen and Ford planned to explore additional ways to co-operate on electric vehicles, it said.
“Over several years starting in 2023, Ford can deliver 600,000 electric vehicles atop the modular electronic drive architecture, which is designed to combine space and performance with electric drive.
“The vehicle, which will be designed and engineered by Ford in Cologne-Merkenich, will add another compelling nameplate to its own all-electric Mustang Mach-E, which will be introduced next year.”