Ford, Volkswagen Close To Finalizing EV And Autonomous Vehicle Partnership

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Ford and Volkswagen are in the final stage to announce their potential partnership on electric and autonomous vehicles

There has been a trend noticed over the past couple of years of automobile manufacturers consolidating and partnering with rival brands. The phenomenon has picked up the speed in the recent past as the automakers are moving away from conventional cars to electric and autonomous vehicles, the future of mobility.

In one such move, Ford and Volkswagen are in the final leg to negotiate a potential deal on developing technologies for electric and autonomous vehicles. The reports of Ford and Volkswagen in talks was first published by a portal called Automotive News.

The same portal has now quoted a source saying Volkswagen’s boss, Herbert Diess, says the deal will be finalized soon as talks are “progressing well.” Diess talked in Wolfsburg during a gathering of the Volkswagen’s 500 most senior executives.

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He also said that both companies will also focus on commercial vehicles and trucks and this will help them optimize investments in new technologies and counter slowing sales.
“Without a strong presence in the U.S. – still our weakest region – global trade conflicts risk putting us in a dire situation,” Diess commented during the meeting.

Automotive News has also claimed that the agreement could be announced as early as July this year. The announcement will include an investment from Volkswagen in Ford’s autonomous affiliate Argo AI, a rival for Google’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise.

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The company’s valuation is one of the main reasons Volkswagen is open to a tie-up with Ford, as revealed by Diess in his speech. In his eyes, a high valuation is “an important acquisition currency in the upcoming phase of consolidation in the industry” and “a virtual currency for partnerships that we need for the transformation.”