Ford and Volkswagen to advance EV and self-driving tech partnership

Building a safe and deployment-ready autonomous car is arguably beyond the capability of any single automaker or technology provider. Companies have realized that they alone cannot make rapid progress in creating a perfect future mobility solution, at a time when nearly every car manufacturer is striving to develop fully-electric and self-driving vehicles.

Ford and Volkswagen could soon chart a new course towards a technology-sharing partnership, as the respective CEOs of both the companies meet for a news conference in New York to discuss about their growing alliance. The officials are expected to announce new details regarding a joint venture on electric and self-driving vehicles.

Earlier in the year, Ford and VW had informed that they will develop medium-sized pickups as well as commercial vans starting 2022. The automakers had said at the time they would investigate how the next generation of vehicles can be developed, including electric and driverless cars. Details regarding these plans are anticipated to be confirmed at this meeting.

A looming threat has emerged worldwide from new players in the automobile sector, like Tesla, Alphabet, Amazon and Uber, who are focusing on advanced mobility and challenging traditional carmakers, forcing them to establish crucial alliances with each other.

For instance, Daimler and BMW have entered a joint venture agreement in Germany focused on developing driverless vehicle technology. Separately, Japanese auto giant Honda has made substantial investments in the autonomous car division of General Motors, Cruise.  

Ford has been concentrating on its plans for a $11 billion restructuring of its business in the next few years, initially by shedding money losing operations globally. The American automaker does not market any full-electric cars as of now but aims to direct majority of the restructuring efforts towards building EVs and driverless cars.

VW has also committed over $50 billion through 2023 to develop electric and autonomous technology, and any future plans with Ford might involve utilizing some of these funds.

A likely collaboration between Ford, VW and Ford’s self-driving technology partner Argo AI could offer the auto manufacturers an edge in the race, while addressing their individual financial and engineering limitations. It would also help expand the global visibility of Argo AI, which has been overshadowed to some extent by the milestones set by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and GM’s Cruise.

 

Source Credits: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/11/business/ford-volkswagen-electric-cars/index.html