Ford and Volkswagen sign agreements for joint projects
Ford and Volkswagen have signed an agreement to expand their global alliance to meet the needs of their customers in Europe and other regions. Their joint projects will range from midsize pickup trucks to commercial and electric vehicles.
Plans for these agreements were first announced by Ford and Volkswagen last year in July. Ford will build and engineer a medium pick up truck which will be sold by Volkswagen as the Amarok beginning of 2022. Both automakers plan to further strengthen the commercial-vehicles businesses by early 2021, with a city delivery van from Volkswagen, and then a 1-ton cargo van from Ford. Ford also plans to establish a unique electric vehicle (EV) for the European market by 2023 and will base it on Volkswagen's modular electric-drive toolkit.
This partnership plans to produce as many as 8 million vehicles between the medium pickup truck and two commercial vans. Presently, both Ford and Volkswagen have strong commercial vans and pickup trucks, offering us popular models such as the Ford Transit and Ranger, and the Volkswagen Transporter, Crafter, Caddy, and Amarok.
"This alliance comes at a time of tremendous enthusiasm about the intersection of increasingly intelligent, connected vehicles in an ever-smarter world," said Ford CEO Jim Hackett. "This creates a huge opportunity to innovate and solve many of the world's transportation challenges and deliver extraordinary benefits to customers - even as companies need to be selective about how they use their cash."
Ford's use of Volkswagen's MEB architecture in Europe will represent another cornerstone in Volkswagen's electric vehicle strategy, as well as further fulfill both companies’ commitments to the Paris 2015 Agreement. Both automakers plan to explore additional ways to cooperate on electric vehicles. Starting in 2023 and over a span of seven years, Ford could deliver 600 000 electric vehicles. The vehicle will be designed and engineered by Ford in Cologne-Merkenich and will add another compelling nameplate to its own all-electric Mustang Mach-E, which will be introduced in 2021.
Ford and Volkswagen have also partnered up with self-driving technology company Argo AI to create autonomous vehicle businesses that make use of Argo’s self-driving technology. The global reach of both automakers will give Argo AI's platform the largest geographic deployment potential of any autonomous driving technology.
Also worth a look: the Volkswagen Golf and the Volkswagen Touareg.
FAQ
Q: What vehicles will Ford and Volkswagen produce together?
Ford and Volkswagen will jointly produce a midsize pickup truck (the new Amarok built by Ford starting in 2022), a city delivery van from Volkswagen by early 2021, and a 1-ton cargo van from Ford, plus Ford will create a European electric vehicle based on VW's MEB platform by 2023.
Q: How many vehicles will the Ford-Volkswagen partnership produce?
The partnership plans to produce up to 8 million vehicles combined across the medium pickup truck and two commercial van models over the course of their collaboration.
Q: Will Ford and Volkswagen commercial vehicles be available in South Africa?
While the article focuses on European markets, both Ford and Volkswagen already sell commercial vehicles like the Transit, Ranger, Amarok and Transporter in South Africa, so it's likely some joint venture models will eventually reach our market depending on demand and local assembly considerations.
Q: When will the new Ford-built Volkswagen Amarok be available?
The new Ford-engineered and built Volkswagen Amarok is scheduled to launch at the beginning of 2022, replacing the current Amarok model that Volkswagen produces independently.
Should You Buy It?
If you're considering current Ford or Volkswagen commercial vehicles in South Africa, this partnership is brilliant news for future models but doesn't immediately affect today's buying decision. The Ford Ranger currently starts around R389,900 while the VW Amarok begins at approximately R419,900, and both remain solid choices for bakkie buyers right now. Wait for the new joint venture models if you can hold off until 2022-2023, as the shared development costs should deliver better value and technology. For immediate commercial vehicle needs, the current Ford Transit Custom (from around R524,900) and VW Crafter (from R634,900) are both excellent options that will likely see improved successors from this collaboration.
