Ford and VW extends cooperation

Two of the world's largest automakers in the form of Ford and Volkswagen launched in 2019, the plans for a greater cooperation, and now the Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen AG signed the cooperation agreements, which are expanding their global alliance with the production of vans, electric cars and medium-sized pickup vehicles.

Cooperation to ensure that both the automakers get the benefits of economies of scale - so in other words, can get pleasure from each other's development, knowledge and platforms and thus also save money.

Ford and Volkswagen expects that the alliance will benefit both current and future customers of both partners.

Both companies expect a still greater demand on both the vans and the high-performance electric cars the world over, and to stordritfsfordelene can help to develop models within those categories faster.

- In the light of the covid-19 and its influence on the global economy it is more important than ever for companies to establish strong alliances such as this. This cooperation will, in large extent to reduce both our production costs. And it will lead to both wider distribution of electric cars and vans, as well as a strengthened position for both parties, says Herbert Diess, Volkswagen Group's managing director, in a press release.

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the Parties expect that the cooperation will result in faster innovation in the extended model programmes and implementation of new and appropriate production technologies.

- This alliance comes at a time when there is great enthusiasm about increasingly more intelligent and connected vehicles. It creates a huge opportunity for more innovation and more benefits for all customers, as there is a big need in dealing with the challenges of the world in the field of transport, says Jim Hackett, Ford's ceo, in the press release.

Although the two parties must work closely together to develop and build new cars by the use of each other's technology and platforms, they emphasize that they will still be two different brands.

- the Alliance between Ford and Volkswagen do not include cross-ownership between the companies, which thus remain competitors in the market, says the press release.

Specifically, the cooperation must result in the production of a medium-sized Ford produced pickup-car that will be sold as a part of Volkswagen's varebilsprogram under the model name Amarok from 2022.

in Addition, both companies varebilsforretning amplified and expanded in 2021. It includes a new Volkswagen-produced kompaktvarebil based on the company's Caddy-model and later also a 1-ton van from Ford.

in addition, a unique Ford-developed electric car in Europe by 2023, which will be based on Volkswagen's Modular Electric Drive technology (MEB), which supports Ford's european goal of zero emission.

As a result of Ford and Volkswagen's new varebilsalliance the parties expect to produce up to eight million units of the two new vans and the new pickup.