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Ford And Volkswagen Expected To Announce Strategic Alliance In January 2019

Citing “a highly placed source at one of the carmakers,” CNBC reports that Ford and Volkswagen will announce their strategic alliance in January 2019. The tipster told the news publication owned by Comcast that “these things take time to work out all the details.”
Ford and Volkswagen logos 1 photo
Photo: Ford; Volkswagen
Once the higher-ups are done with the talks, the Dearborn- and Wolfsburg-based companies will be a couple of signatures away from taking the partnership official. CNBC suggests “a deal is all but certain to emerge,” one that will “have significant repercussions across the global auto industry.”

When rumors of the deal emerged on Automotive News, it was believed the partnership wouldn’t go further than building commercial vehicles together. Volkswagen is particularly interested in the Ranger, expecting the Amarok to borrow the ladder-frame platform of the American counterpart for the next generation of the mid-size pickup truck.

Mahindra is also talking with Ford about a potential partnership, which could include Volkswagen as well. The Indian manufacturer would help both of the remaining parties in the Indian subcontinent, a market that’s hard to crack with Western ideologies.

Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C. last week, Volkswagen chief executive officer Herbert Diess confirmed that “we’re in quite advanced negotiations and dialog with Ford to really build up a global automotive alliance.” U.S. President Donald Trump was also present at the meeting, along with Daimler AG chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche.

Over in the United States, Volkswagen intends to build a second plant that would take the stress off Chattanooga. In addition to the seven-seat Atlas, the Tennessee-based site prepares for the next generation of the Passat mid-size sedan and the five-seat version of the Atlas mid-size crossover utility vehicle.

At one point, chief financial officer Frank Witter told reporters that it's "theoretically possible” to share Volkswagen’s MEB platform with Ford if the Blue Oval so wishes. The first production model underpinned by the Modularer Elektrobaukasten is the I.D. Neo, a Golf-sized compact hatchback that will start production in November 2019.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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