VW and Ford are allegedly getting ready to announce an expanded partnership at the Detroit Auto Show, one that will go beyond working together on commercial vehicles, according to a report from Reuters.
The report cites two sources familiar with the discussions. “A global alliance is expected to be announced,” one source said, adding that the partnership is set to be announced on January 15 as the final details in the area of electric and autonomous cars are still under discussion.
The second source added that “talks are going well”. VW is looking into whether to invest into Ford’s autonomous driving division, with Ford thinking about licensing Volkswagen’s MEB EV architecture, according to the same source.
Previous reports talked about VW wanting to use Ford’s manufacturing capacity in the U.S., which would save a lot of money for the German carmaker and at the same time keep Ford’s underutilized factories busy and their workers employed.
Ford, on the other hand, is reportedly seeking to jointly develop future models with VW, other than the already confirmed light commercial vehicles, with the two companies still not revealing anything about a possible deal.
If those sources prove accurate, we’ll probably have wait until next week to find out what form this new global alliance will take.