Ford will produce electric cars based on Volkswagen

American and German concerns announced the creation of a global alliance, which will be engaged in the production of electric cars, commercial vehicles and pickups, as well as the development of autopilot

Ford has agreed with the Volkswagen concern about the mass production of electric cars, which will be created on the MEB modular platform of the German concern. This was announced on Friday, July 12, at a press conference in New York.

Two automakers reached a final agreement on a global alliance after several months of negotiations. Ford is using the MEB architecture for a completely new electric model that will be produced for the European market at an enterprise in German Cologne. Release of new items will begin in 2023. In the next six years, the Americans intend to sell more than 600 thousand electric cars.

Since 2016, Volkswagen has already invested about $ 7 million in the MEB platform. It should be the base for about 15 million "green" cars, which will be released under the brands VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT. The first production model will be the Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback - its premiere will be held in the autumn of 2019 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

In addition, Volkswagen in cooperation with Ford will invest $ 2.6 million in the Argo AI project, supervised by an American concern. The company is engaged in the development of automatic control systems and is now busy creating a fourth level autopilot.

For the first time about the creation of a global alliance Ford and Volkswagen became known in early 2019. Then it was reported that automakers will join forces to create the architecture for the new mid-size pickup truck and commercial van in 2022. This is a global model that will be sold worldwide.