DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford and Volkswagen will work together to develop a small city van, a larger cargo van, a small pickup truck and an electric vehicle as part of their global alliance announced last year.
The companies on Wednesday announced some details of what the venture will yield, with the city van created by VW and a 1-ton cargo van engineered by Ford to be sold by both companies.
Also, VW will make a small pickup built on the underpinnings of Ford’s Ranger, and Ford will build an electric vehicle for Europe based on VW’s modular design, the companies said.
The automakers announced the alliance last July amid a string of industry partnerships designed to share the costs of developing new technologies.
“In light of the Covid 19 pandemic and its impacts on the global economy, more than ever it is vital to set up resilient alliances between strong companies,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. “This collaboration will efficiently drive down development costs, allowing broader global distribution of electric and commercial vehicles, and enhance the positions of both companies.”
“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.”
