Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen AG has announced they are expanding their global alliance to include electric vehicles - and will collaborate with Argo AI to introduce autonomous vehicle technology in the U.S. and Europe - positioning both companies to better serve customers while improving their competitiveness and cost and capital efficiencies.
Working together with Ford and Volkswagen, Argo AI's self-driving system (SDS) is the first with commercial deployment plans for Europe and the U.S. Thanks to both automakers' global reach, Argo AI's platform now has the largest geographic deployment potential of any autonomous driving technology to date. Volkswagen and Ford will independently integrate Argo AI's SDS into purpose-built vehicles to support the distinct people and goods movement initiatives of both companies.
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.
Company leaders also announced Ford will become the first additional automaker to use Volkswagen's dedicated electric vehicle architecture and Modular Electric Toolkit (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. This supports Ford's European strategy, which involves continuing to play on its strengths - including commercial vehicles, compelling crossovers and imported iconic vehicles such as Mustang and Explorer.
"Looking ahead, even more customers and the environment will benefit from Volkswagen's industry-leading EV architecture. Our global alliance is beginning to demonstrate even greater promise, and we are continuing to look at other areas on which we might collaborate," Diess said.
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.
