VW in news

[vj123]

Ford and VW alliance may turn into a merger

Analysts believe that Ford and Volkswagen's alliance could be on a grander scale than the pair's possible commercial vehicle partnership, and may turn into a merger between the two companies.

http://www.thedrive.com/news/24300/report-volkswagen-and-ford-partnership-could-result-in-merger

Volkswagen to Sell Cars Online From 2020 in Europe

Volkswagen will overhaul its dealership and sales organization by April 2020 to enable online sales and over-the-air software updates for its new electric cars, the German automaker said on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-contract-with-european-dealers-idUSKCN1MQ1TL

 

[adam1991]

Well, we all know that Ford licensed rust from Fiat and also builds Mustangs, and that the Germans have interesting ideas on engineering and building.

Does this mean I'll get a rust-free Ford that allows me to change the oil from the top in ten minutes while I wear a suit and tie? Or does this instead mean I'll get a rusting GTI that spins into Cars & Coffee crowds at the drop of a hat?

Enquiring minds want to know.

This will go over about as well as the M-B/Chrysler "merger".

 

[TheWombat]

This will go over about as well as the M-B/Chrysler "merger".

IF (a big question mark, to my eyes) this comes about, I think it would be a more natural mix. Both companies are mainstream rather than luxury brands. Both have mostly utilitarian vehicles in their mix, with Ford excelling in trucks and big SUVs, and VW doing better in sedans and smaller cars/wagons. Both have a very modest performance segment, really, which doesn't overlap much.

What I would questions is, why would Ford want to do this? Maybe for international, but while I can see VW wanting a piece of the truck world, Ford has pretty much said sayonara to non truck, non-SUV stuff. Maybe this would give them Ford-branded sedans or hatches made by VW? Seems a stretch.

 

[vj123]

This will go over about as well as the M-B/Chrysler "merger".

Even though this didn work, this combo gave some great vehicles (GrandCherokee and Durango). Current platform of these vehicles are running strong from 2011 and there arent many vehicles sold in the market for more than 6 years which is a typical life cycle of a platform.

What I would questions is, why would Ford want to do this? Maybe for international, but while I can see VW wanting a piece of the truck world, Ford has pretty much said sayonara to non truck, non-SUV stuff. Maybe this would give them Ford-branded sedans or hatches made by VW? Seems a stretch.

I think this way, Ford can use VW's strength in Europe and VW can use Ford's strength in NA. Even though Ford's strategy of moving away from sedans & hatches might work in NA, i am not sure about that outcome in rest of the world as those vehicles are bread and butter in most other countries.

We might see more collaborations like this in the future as every auto maker doesnt want to develop stuff from scratch. Honda recently announced that they will be investing close to $3 billion into GM's autonomous driving.

 

[The Fed]

There's a commercial for the new Edge ST that states it's the first of Ford's high-performance line, or something like that.

 

[Shane_Anigans]

Even though Ford's strategy of moving away from sedans & hatches might work in NA, i am not sure about that outcome in rest of the world as those vehicles are bread and butter in most other countries.

Ford will continue to sell small cars in other markets. They are only being discontinued in North America because development and assembly costs won't be recouped due to lack of demand, and import duties/tariffs prevent them from being affordable if they're assembled elsewhere. Yes, the Focus and Fiesta are "global" cars, but no car can be built to satisfy the individual regulations of every country on earth, never mind being tailored to every country's new car market.