Ford Motor and Volkswagen AG said on Wednesday they would built up to 8 million units of medium pickup trucks and commercial vans over the lifecycle of the automobiles as part of an alliance announced in 2019.
The alliance was forged in January 2019 and broadened later, as automakers join forces to invest in electric and self-driving technology in a bid to conserve billions of dollars.
The automakers are going to collaborate on a city van built by Volkswagen, a 1-ton cargo van developed by Ford, and a Volkswagen medium pickup constructed on the Ford Ranger platform, starting in 2022.
Ford is set to develop a new electric vehicle for Europe based on Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive toolkit by 2023, and deliver over 600,000 units during several years.
“This collaboration will effectively drive down development costs, allowing broader global distribution of electric and commercial vehicles, and enhance the positions of both automakers,” Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess stated on Wednesday.
The automakers are also set to develop an autonomous-vehicle business based on Argo AI’s self-driving technology.
Recently, Volkswagen closed a $2.6 billion investment in Argo AI, a Ford’s self-driving cars venture, which is now jointly operated by the alliance.
