Ford CEO Jim Hackett, left, and Chairman Bill Ford earlier confirmed the talks with Volkswagen. Might they announce a deal next week?
The lengthy talks between Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to forge some sort of money-saving, product-expediting partnership appear to be coming to a conclusion with an announcement coming sometime next week during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
“A global alliance is expected to be announced,” one person familiar with the talks told Reuters, adding that the pact will be unveiled next Tuesday during the Detroit auto show. Another official echoed similar sentiments to TheDetroitBureau.com earlier today.
It’s possible that an announcement could come as early as this evening as Ford is hosting an event tonight in Detroit.
Additionally, representatives have been consistently cautious to remind that any deal would be a partnership, not any kind of a merger or sale. The two automotive behemoths have been engaged in discussions about how they could team up to shore up weaknesses in their product and technological areas.
(Ford, Volkswagen talks could wind up soon. Click Here for the story.)
Initially, officials from the two sides said they were discussing partnering in a commercial vehicle venture. However, the door was always left ajar to find other areas in which they could strengthen one another; apparently those talks have been fruitful.
The scope of the alliance is still being determined, sources told Reuters. It appears certain that there will be some sort of pairing related to commercial vehicles. The part still to be determined is how each is best suited to help the other in the realm of electric vehicles and self-driving cars.
(To see more about Ford’s discussions with Volkswagen, Click Here.)
The deal would pool resources in autonomous technology with VW investing in that Ford business, and Ford licensing Volkswagen’s MEB electric vehicles platform, the person told Reuters.