Skip to main content

Volkswagen’s Not Ruling Out an Electric Tie-up With Ford

The partnership announced between Ford and Volkswagen back in June has the potential to birth a number of outcomes — from jointly developed commercial vehicles (the initial aim), to badge-swapped overseas small cars, autonomous vehicle hardware, and perhaps even borrowed electric vehicle architecture.

As it prepares the launch of its MEB-platform electric vehicles, Volkswagen’s not saying “no” to letting Ford have a piece of the action.

Of course, it’s not saying “yes” either. Speaking on a conference call this week, Volkswagen chief financial officer Frank Whitter said the company is open to new hookups, Automotive News reports, but wouldn’t say whether or not its MEB architecture would ever be up for grabs.

“Whether we might provide access to other brands outside of the VW Group is theoretically possible, but there is no decision,” Whitter said.

Having access to VW’s EV architecture would be a cost-saving boon for Ford, which begins its electric product push with the release of a sporty crossover in 2020. At this year’s Detroit auto show, Ford announced plans to release 40 electrified models by 2022, 16 of which would be fully electric. To do this, the automaker will spend $11-billion.

VW’s first MEB vehicle, a compact hatchback, starts production in November 2019. Following that, a crossover and reborn Microbus appear, with production eventually leaving Germany for the U.S. and China. Those latter two models likely have a home in Tennessee.

All told, VW aims to build 10 million electric vehicles using its new architecture. One of the brand’s main areas of focus is the Chinese EV market — a cash-rich cornucopia of state-incentivized green vehicle buyers. It’s a market Ford, which saw its Chinese operations hit a towering roadblock in recent months, would definitely like a larger slice of.

Platforms aside, Whitter said VW is eagerly looking to lower future costs by partnering with big players in the autonomous driving field.

“It’s no secret that this is very expensive to develop and that there is the one or the other that is far ahead, such as Waymo in the U.S., so we are naturally thinking about how we can narrow the lead. Or if this isn’t feasible, how we can strengthen our own activities,” Whitter said. “There’s no final decision.”

a version of this article first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com

The post Volkswagen’s Not Ruling Out an Electric Tie-up With Ford appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2QeTtjM
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...