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https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...ord-vw-alliance-detroit-auto-show/2557488002/
Ford and Volkswagen have been talking since June on several joint projects, including, but not limited to, joint development of a range of commercial vehicles. Both companies said they want to strengthen global competitiveness.
The companies will hold a conference call Tuesday to update discussions.
“We are talking to Volkswagen," Ford Chairman Bill Ford said Monday at the show. "The talks are going really well. We’re going to have more to say later this week. Stay tuned."
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Deiss told the Free Press: "We love to work together with the Ford guys. They are really serious and professional."
Here's what we know so far:
Broader alliance
Initial discussions appeared to quickly evolve to include discussions about collaborating on electric and autonomous vehicle research and development, extremely expensive, complex areas where automakers fear missing out on hundreds of billions in future revenue as transportation evolves.
Deiss appeared to confirm the commercial truck partnership, thought to be to boost VW in Europe: Ford is strong in trucks, he said, "so we decided to join forces there. And we will become very, very competitive together in this segment — which consists of small commercial vans and midsize pickup trucks."
Shared factories?
In December, Diess said his company may expand its U.S. production presence beyond Chattanooga, Tennessee, by building products in underutilized Ford factories with UAW workers.
Monday, of that possibility, he said, ""Too early to announce."
That would be a significant change — foreign automakers have avoided U.S. union labor other than a past General Motors-Toyota operation in California that now is the site of Tesla's factory.
Hackett: Potential in Europe
Ford CEO Jim Hackett told Bloomberg TV during an interview Sunday that Ford would "never sell" the Ford brand, so leaving Europe has "never" been considered. But, he indicated, VW may on day build Ford-branded cars for Europe.
He said he is extremely unhappy with his company's 2018 performance. “I want to tell you, I’m not happy about Ford’s performance” in 2018, Hackett said. “I mean, that should just be said.”
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Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and CEO Jim Hackett pose for a photo during the celebration of Ford Motor Company buying the Michigan Central Station in Corktown, a Detroit neighborhood, on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)
The former furniture company executive, who assumed leadership of Ford in May 2017, is leading job cuts and consolidation he calls "fitness," including what's expected to be thousands of jobs in Europe in a move announced last week.
“Being able to fund both the change in the old and the new is why I’ve thought about other partners to do that,” Hackett told Bloomberg. “We don’t have to sell Ford to do that, we don’t have to sell the brand to do that,” because competitors “can invest in like-minded technologies” with Ford.
Bill Ford comments
“We’re still actually in final discussions,” Ford said of a pending announcement. “It’ll be soon, I promise.”
He added: “There is a very strong future for manufacturing in North America. We are a global company. That won’t change.”
Like Hackett, he referred to the “very expensive” cost of talent, time and technology investment in the future.
He declined to comment on whether the expected alliance would go beyond trucks.
Announcement Tuesday?
North American International Auto Show organizers have held a spot on this week's media schedule for an unspecified "pending industry announcement" on Tuesday morning. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported Friday that the Volkswagen board in Germany had approved "fundamental agreement on planned cooperation" with Ford, according to a Google translation of the German report.
Sources told the Free Press to expect the companies to announce a collaboration on commercial vans and midsize pickups initially, and to say they will continue reviewing opportunities to cooperate on electrification and driverless technology.
More: Ford was offered Volkswagen for free after WWII — and passed
More: Ford, VW work toward announcing alliance at Detroit auto show
More: Suspense builds as Ford, Volkswagen execs head to Detroit auto show
No merger
Ford and VW have been consistently clear that any alliance will not be a merger, and the companies will not take ownership stakes in each other.
The companies complement each other in many regards, with VW strong in China, where Ford has consistently struggled and lost huge chunks of sales in 2018, and in Europe, where Ford losses money and last week announced major cuts. Ford, though, owns pickup sales and production, particularly in North America. VW has no trucks and lags in North America.
Ford and Volkswagen have been talking since June on several joint projects, including, but not limited to, joint development of a range of commercial vehicles. Both companies said they want to strengthen global competitiveness.
The companies will hold a conference call Tuesday to update discussions.
“We are talking to Volkswagen," Ford Chairman Bill Ford said Monday at the show. "The talks are going really well. We’re going to have more to say later this week. Stay tuned."
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Deiss told the Free Press: "We love to work together with the Ford guys. They are really serious and professional."
Here's what we know so far:
Broader alliance
Initial discussions appeared to quickly evolve to include discussions about collaborating on electric and autonomous vehicle research and development, extremely expensive, complex areas where automakers fear missing out on hundreds of billions in future revenue as transportation evolves.
Deiss appeared to confirm the commercial truck partnership, thought to be to boost VW in Europe: Ford is strong in trucks, he said, "so we decided to join forces there. And we will become very, very competitive together in this segment — which consists of small commercial vans and midsize pickup trucks."
Shared factories?
In December, Diess said his company may expand its U.S. production presence beyond Chattanooga, Tennessee, by building products in underutilized Ford factories with UAW workers.
Monday, of that possibility, he said, ""Too early to announce."
That would be a significant change — foreign automakers have avoided U.S. union labor other than a past General Motors-Toyota operation in California that now is the site of Tesla's factory.
Hackett: Potential in Europe
Ford CEO Jim Hackett told Bloomberg TV during an interview Sunday that Ford would "never sell" the Ford brand, so leaving Europe has "never" been considered. But, he indicated, VW may on day build Ford-branded cars for Europe.
He said he is extremely unhappy with his company's 2018 performance. “I want to tell you, I’m not happy about Ford’s performance” in 2018, Hackett said. “I mean, that should just be said.”
Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and CEO Jim Hackett pose for a photo during the celebration of Ford Motor Company buying the Michigan Central Station in Corktown, a Detroit neighborhood, on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)
The former furniture company executive, who assumed leadership of Ford in May 2017, is leading job cuts and consolidation he calls "fitness," including what's expected to be thousands of jobs in Europe in a move announced last week.
“Being able to fund both the change in the old and the new is why I’ve thought about other partners to do that,” Hackett told Bloomberg. “We don’t have to sell Ford to do that, we don’t have to sell the brand to do that,” because competitors “can invest in like-minded technologies” with Ford.
Bill Ford comments
“We’re still actually in final discussions,” Ford said of a pending announcement. “It’ll be soon, I promise.”
He added: “There is a very strong future for manufacturing in North America. We are a global company. That won’t change.”
Like Hackett, he referred to the “very expensive” cost of talent, time and technology investment in the future.
He declined to comment on whether the expected alliance would go beyond trucks.
Announcement Tuesday?
North American International Auto Show organizers have held a spot on this week's media schedule for an unspecified "pending industry announcement" on Tuesday morning. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported Friday that the Volkswagen board in Germany had approved "fundamental agreement on planned cooperation" with Ford, according to a Google translation of the German report.
Sources told the Free Press to expect the companies to announce a collaboration on commercial vans and midsize pickups initially, and to say they will continue reviewing opportunities to cooperate on electrification and driverless technology.
More: Ford was offered Volkswagen for free after WWII — and passed
More: Ford, VW work toward announcing alliance at Detroit auto show
More: Suspense builds as Ford, Volkswagen execs head to Detroit auto show
No merger
Ford and VW have been consistently clear that any alliance will not be a merger, and the companies will not take ownership stakes in each other.
The companies complement each other in many regards, with VW strong in China, where Ford has consistently struggled and lost huge chunks of sales in 2018, and in Europe, where Ford losses money and last week announced major cuts. Ford, though, owns pickup sales and production, particularly in North America. VW has no trucks and lags in North America.
