Ford and VW look to join forces on electric cars
FORD AND VOLKSWAGEN are exploring the possibility of working together on future selfdriving and electric vehicles.
As reported by Reuters, a strategic alliance of this sort could allow for shared platforms and tech, saving both companies billions in research and development costs.
Volkswagen’s new MEB electric vehicle platform would be a logical starting point for the proposed collaboration, although the company’s chief nancial of cer, Frank Witter, said there has been no decision on whether other companies will be allowed to use it.
The rst model based on Meb, volkswagen’s Golf-sized ID hatchback, is due to go on sale in 2020, and the company has previously stated that it plans to be making between two and three million fully electric cars per year by 2025.
Ford and Volkswagen, alongside BMW and Daimler, are already co-owners of a scheme that is developing a network of ultra-fast charging stations across Europe.
The potential new alliance would not be the rst of its kind; Honda recently invested £2.1 billion in General Motors’ self-driving division, with the intention of co-developing a new range of driverless taxis to challenge models planned by tech giants Apple and Google.