German company Volkswagen and American concern Ford are deep in discussions about how to expand upon synergies that exist between the two automotive conglomerates, and while the discussions began with small commercial vehicles, both firms have been quick to point out that neither are limiting the scope of the talks to any specific topics. We already reported that VW are eyeing Ford’s autonomous driving experience, but it seems that now, there are more important things being discussed.
Important for us, at least.
It seems that the well-loved Amarok, the ute that was supposed to be only for South America but found favour across the globe, may move onto the Ford Ranger platform when the model is brought into a new generation in the near future. This was revealed by VW boss Herbert Diess to Automotive News, as part of the “huge synergies” that both Ford & VW intend to explore in these talks.
If the Amarok really does go red-white-blue under the skin, there’ll be a price to pay. Ford may be ahead on the autonomy race, but they’re lagging behind in terms of EV development. To that end, Volkswagen may license the use of their new all-electric MEB platform for Ford to use, which would rapidly expedite their progress in the EV game.
VW and Ford signed an MOU back in June, agreeing to explore parallels between them to boost developmental & production efficiency (focusing on their commercial vehicle divisions) and give each other a leg up in markets where the other does better. VW’s expertise in Europe is of great value to Ford, whereas VW could learn from Ford’s continued ability to dominate in North America.
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