autoevolution
 

Ford and Volkswagen Announce Possible Alliance, Will Start With Vans

Even though the rumors were already talking about a possible tie-up between the automotive giants, Volkswagen's official statement on the matter only says they are "exploring" it. However, if things go well, there will be several jointly developed projects between the two.
Ford and Volkswagen Announce Possible Strategic Alliance, Will Start With Vans 1 photo
Photo: Volkswagen
The only tangible piece of information is that Ford and Volkswagen AG want "joint development of a range of commercial vehicles to better serve the evolving needs of customers globally."

Volkswagen's old van-producing partner was Daimler, but it pulled out several years ago. Evolving emissions regulations in Europe are a big problem, especially as neither SEAT nor Skoda makes vans, so cost sharing isn't possible.

Where are goods delivered all the time? In cities. And what do all the big ones want to do? Ban internal combustion engines, starting with diesels. Which is why we believe some of these jointly developed commercial vehicles will be electric. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if the Caddy started handling like a small Transit.

Pickups have also been briefly mentioned in connected stories, and the mind naturally goes to the Amarok. VW's only trunk is already quite old, having made its debut in 2010. A replacement co-developed with Ford's Ranger might be explored.

“Ford is committed to improving our fitness as a business and leveraging adaptive business models – which include working with partners to improve our effectiveness and efficiency,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s president of Global Markets. “This potential alliance with the Volkswagen Group is another example of how we can become more fit as a business, while creating a winning global product portfolio and extending our capabilities.

“Markets and customer demand are changing at an incredible speed. Both companies have strong and complementary positions in different commercial vehicle segments already. To adapt to the challenging environment, it is of utmost importance to gain flexibility through alliances. This is a core element of our Volkswagen Group Strategy 2025. The potential industrial cooperation with Ford is seen as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of both companies globally," added Dr. Thomas Sedran, Head of Volkswagen Group Strategy.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories