New York (AFP)
US automakers Ford and German Volkswagen announced Friday to expand their alliance, formed in January, the development of autonomous and electric cars, considered the future of the automobile.
This partnership, however, excludes an exchange of cross-shareholdings, made it clear in a joint statement, the two groups, who are already working together in the production of vans, utilities and commercial pickups.
In the autonomous car, Volkswagen will invest a total of $ 2.6 billion in Argo AI, the autonomous car development subsidiary of its American rival Ford.
This investment, which will be in the form of a billion dollars in cash and the integration in Argo AI of AID, a subsidiary of Volkswagen's autonomous technologies, will boost Ford's subsidiary to more than 7 billion, say the two automobile giants.
They will be equal shareholders in Argo AI, Volkswagen has committed to buy shares in Ford for $ 500 million over three years, while the blue oval brand will finalize the remaining investments ( 600 million) promised to the startup.
Employees of Argo AI, currently testing its technologies in Miami, Florida, and the federal capital Washington, will have a minority stake.
In the electrical industry, the alliance expects Ford to use the MEB platform, the technical base common to all Volkswagen's new electric cars, to build its own models for the European market.
The first Ford car to be assembled will be marketed in Europe from 2023, with the goal of producing 600,000 vehicles over 6 years.
Ford and Volkswagen are also discussing the possibility that the US group will produce a second model on this SEM platform.
The strengthened alliance between Ford and Volkswagen reflects the ongoing transformation of the automotive sector, which is shaken by electric and autonomous technologies, considered the next eldorado of the automotive industry.
These technologies, however, require large investments in the billions of dollars.
To limit risks and remain a major player, especially in the face of the offensive of the high-tech giants (Waymo, born at Google), or those of the sharing economy like Uber, the builders forge new alliances .
Daimler and BMW are cooperating in particular on automation, while the latter will develop electric motors with Jaguar Land Rover.
Honda has invested in Cruise, the General Motors (GM) autonomous car development subsidiary, while the Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler and French Renault have recently tried to merge without success.
Manufacturers announce the commercialization of the first autonomous cars by 2021, although recent accidents in tests in the United States have somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of the sector.
© 2019 AFP