Photo: Ford and VW, edited by autoevolution
The highly anticipated union between Ford and Volkswagen became official on Tuesday after the two companies announced they will be joining hands to attack several of the most dynamic market segments in the industry.
The alliance, which does not involve cross-ownership, will see the two jointly working on creating future models for the commercial vans and medium-sized pickup trucks for the global market as soon as 2022. This approach will allow the two to share development costs and manufacturing capacity, with the first improved annual pre-tax operating results expected as soon as 2023.
As part of the deal, Ford will be working on creating medium-sized pickups and larger commercial vans which it will share with Volkswagen, while the Germans will chip in a city van for the alliance.
The rollout plan for the pickup trucks built together calls for them to be launched on global markets in 2022, while commercial vans will follow in Europe soon after that.
Aside for these main areas of interest, Ford and Volkswagen agreed to look into how collaboration between them would help the brands engineer and launch autonomous vehicles and, at a later date, expand their collaboration in other segments of the market.
The joint efforts of the two will be handled by the companies’ two chief executives, Herbert Diess and Jim Hackett, seconded by senior executives from both companies.
“Volkswagen and Ford will harness our collective resources, innovation capabilities and complementary market positions to even better serve millions of customers around the world,” said in a statement German executive Diess.
Ford and Volkswagen sold last year around 1.2 million light commercial vehicles combined around the globe, a number that in itself dwarfs all competition.
Still, that figure is small compared to what is to come. Although not releasing any numbers, Volkswagen predicts this market will grow significantly over the next five years.
As part of the deal, Ford will be working on creating medium-sized pickups and larger commercial vans which it will share with Volkswagen, while the Germans will chip in a city van for the alliance.
The rollout plan for the pickup trucks built together calls for them to be launched on global markets in 2022, while commercial vans will follow in Europe soon after that.
Aside for these main areas of interest, Ford and Volkswagen agreed to look into how collaboration between them would help the brands engineer and launch autonomous vehicles and, at a later date, expand their collaboration in other segments of the market.
The joint efforts of the two will be handled by the companies’ two chief executives, Herbert Diess and Jim Hackett, seconded by senior executives from both companies.
“Volkswagen and Ford will harness our collective resources, innovation capabilities and complementary market positions to even better serve millions of customers around the world,” said in a statement German executive Diess.
Ford and Volkswagen sold last year around 1.2 million light commercial vehicles combined around the globe, a number that in itself dwarfs all competition.
Still, that figure is small compared to what is to come. Although not releasing any numbers, Volkswagen predicts this market will grow significantly over the next five years.
Google News