VW and Ford talk about alliance for robot cars

Wolfsburg / Dearborn (APA / Reuters) – Volkswagen and Ford are apparently moving towards a much larger alliance than previously announced. In addition to the cooperation with light commercial vehicles announced during the summer, according to insiders, the two major companies are now exploring cooperation in the development of autonomous cars and battery-powered cars.

The goal is to share the billions of dollars of the cost of conversion into mobility providers, said several familiar plans. "Discussions with Ford are well advanced and can cover many areas," said a VW executive officer on Thursday. As early as 16 November, Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen, was to present his projects to the Supervisory Board. The "Handelsblatt" also announced that Ford wanted to give Wolfsburgers access to engine technology and their collection platforms. In return, VW could open its MEB electric platform for the US group.

Similarly, insiders told Reuters. It seems that Volkswagen is considering giving other manufacturers access to its modular electrical construction kit (MEB). The goal is to increase unit sales beyond group sales in order to reduce costs per vehicle. This is a prerequisite for electric cars to become competitive with diesel vehicles.

Volkswagen adopts a particularly aggressive behavior when switching to electromobility in order to meet the stricter requirements for lowering carbon dioxide, a climatic poison. The world's largest automaker is investing more than 34 billion euros in new electric cars, autonomous driving and digitization by 2022. By 2025, the Group's brands are expected to put on the market more than 80 new electric models, including 50 battery-only vehicles and 30 plug-in hybrid vehicles. To meet the demand for battery cells badociated with this ambitious program, Volkswagen has announced a global buying volume of more than 50 billion euros. According to insiders, the company is also preparing to enter the production of battery cells and is considering a multi-billion dollar cooperation with the Korean manufacturer SK Innovation.

CFO Frank Witter had already indicated that the group was open to partnerships and that this also applies to the development of autonomous cars. "It's not a secret that it's a very expensive story to develop and that there are some that are well advanced," Witter said. when presenting the group's quarterly figures. For example, he named Google's subsidiary Waymo, which is already testing autonomous cars. In this regard, Volkswagen is thinking about how to "reduce gap and jet lag" by building on the existing one.

In the case of large-scale cooperation with Ford in the field of autonomous cars, VW's subsidiary, Audi, would lose, according to the opinion, the influential connoisseurs of the group. The high-end manufacturer based in Ingolstadt, as a technology carrier, was responsible for developing robotic cars for the group a few years ago. Meanwhile, in Wolfsburg, one complains that Audi shows no progress with regard to fully autonomous moving vehicles. "They did not succeed," an insider criticized. Audi itself insists on an alleged commitment by CEO Diess that the brand with four rings should remain the "technological spearhead" of the group. There is no final decision on the transfer of responsibility for highly automated and autonomous driving in Wolfsburg, a spokesman said.

Another person familiar with the situation pointed out that "Audi was" in a difficult situation "because of the diesel scandal. "They have a lot of homework to do." Since detecting the handling of diesel a good three years ago, several Audi development officials have had to take off their hat. The former boss of Audi, Rupert Stadler, spent four months in detention on remand, as the Munich Attorney General suspected him of obstructing the investigation and influencing the witnesses. Stadler himself has always rejected the allegations. On Tuesday, the Munich Higher Regional Court announced that the director had been released on bail.

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http://www.ford.com/ ~ APA165 2018-11-01 / 12: 44