Volkswagen will share the MEB platform with Ford, according to a new report from Reuters. The collaboration will also include autonomous vehicle platforms.
The two companies are said to have only reached an outline agreement at this point, though. Now VW’s supervisory board is set to meet on July 11, 2019 to discuss deepening the alliance, according to an unnamed source.
Ford and VW officially announced that they would be collaborating in January of this year at the Detroit Auto Show.
“Volkswagen and Ford will harness our collective resources, innovation capabilities and complementary market positions to even better serve millions of customers around the world,” said Herbert Diess, VW’s CEO, in Detroit. “At the same time, the alliance will be a cornerstone for our drive to improve competitiveness.”
At the time, the automakers only explicitly announced that they would be working on a medium-sized pickup chassis for both brands to use. The companies also said they would be sharing van chassis and hinted that they might collaborate on electric and autonomous vehicle platforms, though few details were provided.
In February, meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that VW was preparing a $1.7 billion investment in Ford’s autonomous vehicle department, Argo.
All along VW and Ford have maintained that despite the collaboration, financial stakes have not been discussed, so the companies will remain separate despite working together.
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