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Ford, Volkswagen explore deal: Is a VW pickup truck next?
Ford Motor and Volkswagen Group are considering a deal to collaborate on vehicle development and other projects.
The move raises the distinct prospect that the global automakers could help each other where the other one is weak.
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford needs help in Europe and China. That's where Germany-based VW is strongest.
And Volkswagen needs help on commercial vehicles, pickup trucks and SUVs. That's where Ford is best.
A potential collaboration on pickup trucks is perhaps most tantalizing for Americans. Ford's F-series is the best selling pickup truck model in the U.S. and a profit behemoth.
Volkswagen's interest in developing a pickup truck for the U.S. market came into full view in March when the automaker revealed the VW Atlas Tanoak pickup concept at the New York Auto Show.
"Could it piggyback on Ford’s pickups and big SUV platforms? Maybe," Sanford Bernstein auto analyst Max Warburton wrote Wednesday.
Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said in an email that "it's premature to share additional details at this time" on what the collaboration will entail.
VW and Ford specified that their potential alliance "would not involve" either company taking an ownership stake in the other.
Rather, they said they are "investigating several joint projects, including joint development of a range of commercial vehicles to better serve the evolving needs of customers globally."
VW spokesman Marc Langendorf declined to comment on specifics of the strategic alliance.
“Markets and customer demand are changing at an incredible speed," Volkswagen strategy boss Thomas Sedran said in a statement. "To adapt to the challenging environment, it is of utmost importance to gain flexibility through alliances."
One area where Ford needs a helping hand: Europe, where its path to growth is unclear.
"Could VW help Ford solve its European problems in exchange for Ford helping VW in the U.S.? Why not?" Warburton said.
Warburton floated the possibility that Volkswagen could acquire Ford plants and "fill them with VW and Audi products."
"Ford needs an exit from Europe," Warburton said. "It can’t make money here and there’s less and less overlap with U.S. product and operations. But there’s no obvious buyer and a common brand with the U.S. makes separation problematic."
If Ford hands off European operations to Volkswagen, it would come after crosstown rival General Motors recently exited Europe by selling its assets there to French automaker PSA.
