- 2021-06-10
Ford and Volkswagen form a "global alliance"
Ford (Ford) and Volkswagen (Volkswagen) announced a "global alliance", which means that from commercial vehicles to potential new services, the two automakers will cooperate on a series of projects.
The alliance will be run by a joint committee led by Ford CEO Jim Hackett and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess, as well as senior executives from both companies. The two automakers will not hold each other's shares because of this alliance.
The two groups will seek to cooperate in the development of electric vehicles, autonomous driving technology and new transportation services. When they announced the partnership, they stated that they are also "willing to consider other vehicle projects in the future."
The alliance is one of the largest non-consolidated auto industry partnerships since Renault and Nissan joined forces in 1999. With the formation of this alliance, the auto industry is entering a period of slowing sales and rising costs in major markets.
At present, various automakers are seeking business breadth, investing in new technologies (such as electric or autonomous driving systems), while investing in current car development, which forces many manufacturers to seek partnerships to share costs.
Volkswagen occupies a dominant position in the European and Chinese markets and electric vehicles; Ford has a strong performance in the North American market and commercial vehicles, and has its own Argo AI self-driving car project.
As a first step, the two automakers will work on a joint project for pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. The goal is to launch new products in 2022 and increase the profits of the two companies from 2023.
Ford also plans to design and manufacture larger commercial trucks for Europe for the two groups, while Volkswagen plans to produce a city truck.
Hackett added that both companies will contribute to each other's vehicle development and share "engineering brainpower."
Diss said that the two groups may jointly develop electric vehicles in China, the world's largest electric vehicle market.
"We believe that we can explore future cooperation opportunities," he said, although he ruled out the possibility of either of the two companies holding each other's shares.
Hackett said that the two automakers will provide detailed information in the coming weeks on "how the alliance will affect the different regions where Ford operates", indicating that the US-owned group and Volkswagen may cooperate in Latin America; Ford is working Ready to restructure its business in the region in order to restore profitability.
"Kelley Blue Book" and "Autotrader" executive publisher Karl Brauer (Karl Brauer) said: "We will see more such partnerships, not only between car manufacturers, but also Between automakers and technology companies. But as the current controversy surrounding the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance proves, cooperation is not always easy, and success is not guaranteed."