Volkswagen in talks to purchase stake in Ford’s Argo unit

Volkswagen has signed a deal to develop a pickup truck with U.S. competitor Ford and carries on discussions about extending its alliance to consist autonomous driving and mobility services, the German automaker stated.

In June 2018 VW and Ford revealed they were in discussions to jointly develop a range of commercial vehicles and later expanded talks to consist electric and autonomous cars as part of an alliance designed to save billions in expenses.

“We are in constructive discussions about taking a stake in Argo, the Ford division for autonomous driving. A joint company for offering mobility as a service is also a possibility,” stated Thomas Sedran, who is Volkswagen’s commercial vehicles chief executive.

The talks will come to a conclusion in the future, Sedran stated.

Ford purchased Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based self-driving startup, in 2017 but development expenses for autonomous cars have spiraled in recent times, leading several automakers to seek alliances and outside investors.

VW stated it had signed a contract with Ford to develop a successor to its VW Amarok pickup truck. Ford has a platform for its Ranger midsized pickup truck, which could assist VW lower development expenses.