Ford and VWG announce EV and AI collaboration

The trend towards collaboration in the automotive industry continued with Ford and Volkswagen AG announcing they are expanding their alliance to include electric and autonomous vehicle developments.

As part of the announcement, Ford will use VWG’s MEB platform, while both companies are investing in Argo AI. Its self-driving system (SDS) is the first with commercial deployment plans for Europe and the US.

Ford and Volkswagen will have an equal stake in Argo AI, and combined, Volkswagen and Ford will own a substantial majority. The remainder will be used as an incentive pool for Argo AI employees. The full transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Ford president and CEO Jim Hackett said, ‘While Ford and Volkswagen remain independent and fiercely competitive in the marketplace, teaming up and working with Argo AI on this important technology allows us to deliver unmatched capability, scale and geographic reach. Unlocking the synergies across a range of areas allows us to showcase the power of our global alliance in this era of smart vehicles for a smart world.’

Meanwhile, Ford will become the first additional automaker to use Volkswagen’s dedicated electric vehicle architecture and Modular Electric Toolkit – or MEB – to deliver a high-volume zero-emission vehicle in Europe starting in 2023.

Ford expects to deliver more than 600,000 European vehicles using the MEB architecture over six years, with a second all-new Ford model for European customers under discussion.

The alliance, which covers collaborations outside of Volkswagen and Ford’s joint investments in Argo AI, does not entail cross-ownership between the two companies and is independent from the investment into Argo AI. The alliance is governed by a joint committee, which is led by Hackett and Diess and includes senior executives from both companies.

This follows the announcements that JLR and BMW are also working together in this sector.