Ford & VW Teaming Up on New Technology

As the push for electric and autonomous cars becomes very real, Ford and Volkswagen are joining forces in this new frontier.

Don’t worry though; they’re staying separate companies. Nothing is official yet, but in theory, with this agreement VW would develop city vans and Ford would develop midsize pickup trucks and commercial vans for both companies. Obviously details need to be discussed, but questions revolve around branding and job impact.

Both companies are coming off a tough year. Volkswagen had its diesel scandal, which alleged that the vehicles’ software essentially lied about emissions. Ford continues to struggle financially as the company trickles information of its restructuring under the new-ish CEO, James Hackett.

The costs of creating the technology for electric and self-driving cars are astronomical. This is in an effort to save hundreds of millions of dollars by collaborating on the projects. Ford estimates that these joint projects will save $500 million annually.

Historically these types of alliances haven’t worked, but starting small may give this one a chance at success. Volkswagen has already announced it will be assembling battery-powered SUVs in a new plant it’s building in Chattanooga, Tenn, so it will be ahead of the game on creating larger electric vehicles. Also, a focus on trucks and vans will give them an edge on a technology that has been primarily utilized in smaller passenger vehicles.

For now, it’s wait and see, which seems to be the theme with Ford over the last two years. How will the partnership unfold? If it’s successful it may not be the last one we see over the next 5-10 years as auto technology takes off and changes drastically.