Ford, Volkswagen forge alliance to develop commercial vehicles

It looks like we'll be seeing commercial vehicles in the not too distant future that are co-developed by Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen AG. Recently, the Dearborn-based automaker and the Wolfburg-based company signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow the two brands to strengthen each company's competitiveness and customer service globally.

Both companies will explore potential projects across a number of areas like the development of commercial vehicles.

Jim Farley, Ford's president of Global markets, stated that the company is committed in improving their fitness as a business and leveraging adaptive business models.

“This potential alliance with the Volkswagen Group is another example of how we can become more fit as a business, while creating a winning global product portfolio and extending our capabilities. We look forward to exploring with the Volkswagen team in the days ahead how we might work together to better serve the evolving needs of commercial vehicle customers – and much more,” added Farley.

Meanwhile Dr. Thomas Sebran, Head of Volkswagen Group Strategy, said that with the ever-changing market trends and customer demands, it would be unwise to not build an alliance with another company that has a strong position in different commercial vehicle segments.

“To adapt to the challenging environment, it is of utmost importance to gain flexibility through alliances. This is a core element of our Volkswagen Group Strategy 2025. The potential industrial cooperation with Ford is seen as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of both companies globally,” said Sebran.

Besides partnering up with Volkswagen, Ford also signed an MoU with Mahindra last March. With it, the two companies will develop products and further strengthen their alliance which started back in September 2017. Exact details regarding the joint development are scarce. However, Ford and Mahindra did mention that a new mid-sized SUV will be built on a Mahindra platform and will be sold independently by both automakers. In addition, a compact SUV and an all-electric car may also be in the works.