Talks between Ford and Volkswagen have been going on from as early as a year ago, but since then, we’ve been hearing nothing but minor updates hinting at a partnership with regards to pick-ups and vans. Today’s update still doesn’t reveal much (more later), but does point to the deal being finalised soon.
Automotive News quotes Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess, who says the talks are progressing well. Beyond that, there’s an indication that Ford and Volkswagen will be optimising investments in new technologies together.
A Ford-VW partnership would give both companies a high valuation and help Volkswagen in particular establish a foothold in the American market.
About Volkswagen
Volkswagen was founded in 1937, to manufacture the car which would become known as the Beetle. The company’s production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1965 it acquired Auto Union, which subsequently produced the first post-war Audi models. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat, Polo and Golf; the latter became its bestseller. Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in SEAT in 1986, making it the first non-German marque of the company, and acquired control of Škoda in 1994, of Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti in 1998, Scania in 2008 and of Ducati, MAN and Porsche in 2012. The company’s operations in China have grown rapidly in the past decade with the country becoming its largest market. In June 2018, Volkswagen Trucks and Buses which comprises the MAN, Scania, and RIO truck brands are renamed to TRATON AG but the marques will not change, said by Andreas Renschler.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is a public company and has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, and secondary listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange. It has been traded in the United States via American depositary receipts since 1988, currently on the OTC Marketplace. Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The state of Lower Saxony holds 12.7% of the company’s shares, granting it 20% of the voting rights.
