Jump to content

VW board puts Ford alliance on agenda for July meeting


Recommended Posts

June 26, 2019 03:15 PM 15 hours ago

VW board puts Ford alliance on agenda for July meeting

CHRISTOPH RAUWALD and KEITH NAUGHTON
 

FRANKFURT/DETROIT -- Volkswagen Group's supervisory board plans to discuss and possibly approve next steps toward expanding an alliance with Ford Motor Co. when it meets in two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

An agreement announced in January to cooperate on vans and pickup trucks with Ford could be firmed up at the July 11 board meeting, with the alliance potentially extending to include joint work on self-driving and electric-car technology, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the meetings are private.

Progress reported

A spokesman for VW’s supervisory board declined to comment. The 20-member board includes the top representatives from key shareholders as well as labor unions. A Ford spokeswoman said discussions with VW have been productive across a number of areas and that it will share updates as details become more firm.

VW CEO Herbert Diess earlier this month told 500 top executives in Wolfsburg, Germany, that talks with Ford are “progressing well” and are close to being finalized, according to prepared remarks seen by Bloomberg. The pact is part of VW’s plan to share costs amid record expenses required to develop new technologies.

 

VW’s tie-up with Ford is likely to include an investment in the U.S. company’s autonomous affiliate Argo AI, and a deal could be announced as early as July, people familiar with the talks said earlier this month. Such a partnership could rival Google affiliate Waymo and General Motors' Cruise unit in ambition and scope, one of the people said.

Ford and VW have discussed an approximate valuation for Argo of $4 billion, a person familiar with their deliberations said in February.

 

The Ford cooperation and the planned listing of VW’s truck unit Traton SE are among VW’s key initiatives to lift the depressed valuation of the world’s largest automaker. A high valuation is “an important acquisition currency in the upcoming phase of consolidation in the industry,” Diess told the top VW managers. It’s also “a virtual currency for partnerships that we need for the transformation.”

No equity ties

Diess ruled out entering equity ties with Ford in January when initial plans for the alliance were mapped out.

Traditional rivalries between carmakers have started to fall by the wayside as a costly shift to electric cars and new models for car ownership accelerates. Automakers are looking to boost scale to spread the costs of making battery-powered vehicles. While sales of electric cars are rising, they remain a fraction of combustion cars, and the investments required to develop self-driving autos are enormous.

Evidence of the push for consolidation includes Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' failed proposal for a tie-up with Renault SA to become the world’s third-largest automaker. Daimler AG and BMW AG also have teamed up on car sharing and autonomous driving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/28/2019 at 5:30 AM, atomcat68 said:

Also telling is today's announcement from Ford about closing plants and cutting the work force in Europe.

They can’t keep building and selling a combined 60,000 German fiestas and Focus each month and wonder why there’s no profit.

meanwhile, ROW aka “One Ford” hand me down product that don’t sell well in Europe is just wondering if rebadged VWs are it’s future reward and could they be any worse than the Shyte presently passed off as competitive?

Edited by jpd80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...