The German carmaker said various contracts between the two companies were nearing completion and would be signed soon.
Among the shared projects specified by VW are a midsize pickup to be developed by Ford; a city delivery van to be developed by VW; a larger commercial van to be developed by Ford, and a new electric vehicle for Ford of Europe, to be built on VW’s electric vehicle architecture.
Regarding official approval of the agreements, a Ford spokesman on Thursday said, “We look forward to jointly providing an update soon.”
VW’s statement said “further projects are to follow, as is the investment in Argo AI,” the self-driving software company backed by Ford and which eventually will be jointly controlled with VW.
VW’s planned US$3.1 billion investment in Argo “remains on track and is expected to close soon,” Argo said in a statement.
On the China front, Volkswagen has become the biggest shareholder of electric vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-Tech Co Ltd with a 26.5% stake, Guoxuan said in stock exchange filings on Thursday.
Reuters reported the Volkswagen is in final talks to invest in the Hefei-based battery company on Wednesday.
Guoxuan said it will restart share trading on May 29. Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
