Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Business
    Home / Business / Motoring

    VW, Ford team up for new future

    By Li Fusheng | China Daily | Updated: 2019-01-21 11:21
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Ford showcases some of its models at a car launch event in Chongqing, southwestern China, in November 2018. [Photo by Li Fusheng/China Daily]

    Car giants make deal to share knowledge and resources of their commercial vehicles

    Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Company are partnering to develop pickups and vans and explore cooperation in autonomous driving and electric cars, possibly in Europe and China, to share costs and enhance competitiveness in the fast-changing automotive industry.

    The two car giants announced their alliance last Tuesday at the Detroit auto show held in the United States, but they have ruled out the possibility of a merger or cross-holding of equities, like the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

    The alliance will be governed by a joint committee headed by Ford CEO Jim Hackett and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and is composed of senior executives from both companies.

    Ford said it will engineer and build medium-sized pickups for both companies, starting from 2022, which will yield improved annual pretax operating results starting in 2023.

    The US carmaker said it will also engineer and build larger commercial vans for European customers, while Volkswagen will develop and build a city van.

    Through the alliance, the two will share development costs and leverage their respective manufacturing capacity, but maintain distinct brand characteristics, said the two in a joint statement.

    "Over time, this alliance will help both companies create value and meet the needs of our customers and society," Hackett said.

    "It will not only drive significant efficiencies and help both companies improve their fitness, but also give us the opportunity to collaborate on shaping the next era of mobility."

    The two companies' collective light commercial vehicle sales in 2018 totaled around 1.2 million units globally, and they said demand will grow further in the next five years.

    The jointly developed vehicles will primarily be for Europe, South America and South Africa, according to Bloomberg. But it reported Diess as saying he was "very open" to potentially sharing Volkswagen's electric vehicle technology called MEB in Europe and China.

    Analysts say the two's cooperation in China is unlikely to come before partnerships in other parts of the world have proven successful, because the country, as the world's largest car market, has been crucial for both carmakers.

    The German group has been the best-selling carmaker in China, where it delivered more than 4 million vehicles last year under its Volkswagen brand as well as Audi and Skoda.

    The carmaker has set a goal to lead electro-mobility in the country, where it is investing 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) this year alone, expecting to sell 1.5 million new energy cars annually by 2025.

    In an interview earlier this month with China Daily, Diess said Volkswagen's future lies with China, expecting the country to replace Europe as the source of its technology.

    Ford is seeing its market share shrinking in China, but it has elevated the position of the country up to that of North America.

    It is in the process of introducing 50 models into the country by 2025.

    Both companies have set up joint ventures dedicated to electric vehicles as well.

    Ford and Volkswagen have also signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate collaboration on autonomous vehicles, mobility services and electric vehicles, each of them meaning huge investment.

    Quoting sources familiar with the matter, Reuters said the framework of such a deal would include Volkswagen investing in Ford's autonomous vehicle operations, including its Argo AI business.

    "Carmakers around the globe are investing heavily to align their portfolios to future needs and accelerate their innovation cycles. In such an environment, it just makes sense to share investment," said Diess in a conference call last Tuesday.

    Volkswagen has allocated a record 44 billion euros in spending over the next five years to stay competitive in the industry full of new changes, according to Bloomberg.

    Ford has also started an $11 billion restructuring and earmarked a combined $15 billion in investment toward electrified and driverless cars in coming years.

    Slowdowns in the world's largest auto markets-China and the United States-have ratcheted up the pressure on both to cut costs.

    "Automakers aren't just competing with each other anymore. They're under intense pressure from well-funded tech companies," Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    CLOSE
     
    亚洲精品无码久久久久| 无码不卡亚洲成?人片| 亚洲äv永久无码精品天堂久久| 天堂资源在线最新版天堂中文| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区在线| 中文字幕亚洲男人的天堂网络| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费| 全球中文成人在线| 国产精品无码成人午夜电影| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区首JN | 精品人妻va出轨中文字幕| 激情无码人妻又粗又大中国人| 毛片免费全部播放无码| 中文字幕乱码人在线视频1区 | 波多野结衣AV无码| 亚洲中文字幕无码不卡电影| 久久精品中文字幕久久| 久久久久综合中文字幕| 久久亚洲AV无码西西人体| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区五十路百度| 永久免费无码日韩视频| 无码任你躁久久久久久 | 久久久久亚洲精品无码网址| 亚洲AV无码不卡无码| 人妻AV中出无码内射| 台湾无码AV一区二区三区 | 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 天堂最新版中文网| 精品人妻V?出轨中文字幕| 最近更新中文字幕第一页| 亚洲 日韩经典 中文字幕| 成年无码av片在线| 国产av永久无码天堂影院| 色综合AV综合无码综合网站| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区免费| 亚洲V无码一区二区三区四区观看 亚洲爆乳精品无码一区二区三区 亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区 | 亚洲成?v人片天堂网无码| 免费AV一区二区三区无码| 97久久精品无码一区二区| 国产精品亚洲αv天堂无码| 免费a级毛片无码|