DPA
VW boss Herbert Diess, Ford chief Jim Hackett in Detroit: alliance for light commercial vehicles
The global alliance of the car company Volkswagen Show stock market chart with the US rival Ford Show stock market chart initially limited to the division of light commercial vehicles. The first concrete step of the cooperation is the planned development of vans and mid-sized pick-ups from 2022, confirmed Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess and Ford CEO Jim Hackett on Tuesday in Detroit.
Both are expected to improve their operating results from 2023 onwards. A capital linkage of the two companies is not provided. A possible cooperation on electromobility, autonomous cars and mobility services will be examined.
Already on Friday, the Volkswagen Supervisory Board had approved a general agreement on the planned cooperation. The goal of the cooperation in the construction of light commercial vehicles is to save costs. According to Diess, both manufacturers in the segment are too small to play a global role.
Together, carmakers could share R & D spending, and plants could be better utilized.
Together, both companies sold around 1.2 million light commercial vehicles worldwide in 2018. According to VW, the alliance would thus be the industry’s highest volume collaboration in the segment. In the next five years, demand for medium-sized pick-ups and transporters will increase worldwide.
VW wants to benefit from Ford in the US, Ford from VW in Europe
The cooperation should thus prepare the ground to move forward in other fields and thus to share the enormous expenditure in the transformation of pure car makers to mobility providers. Ford, as the second largest US manufacturer, is strong on its home market, while Volkswagen is ahead in Europe and China. The Americans have just announced that they will redevelop their deficient European business and want to cut thousands of jobs. Also about plant closures is thought. It is conceivable, according to Diess, that Volkswagen uses capacities from Ford in the USA and, conversely, that the Americans profit from the strength of VW in Europe.
Also read: How VW wants to score in the US with electric cars
Not yet so far, however, the negotiations are in robot cars and electric mobility. Here is further thought. According to insiders, Volkswagen is investing in the Ford autonomous driving division. Conversely, the US group is considering a licensing of the electrical construction kit MEB from Volkswagen. This reaffirmed VW’s willingness to share the electric platform with others to gain economies of scale. The more battery-powered vehicles are on a platform, the cheaper they become. To bring e-mobile to mass suitable prices under 20,000 euros on the market, high volumes are needed.
la / dpa