Ford and Volkswagen in talks to jointly develop autonomous and electrics cars

Although the two major automakers are tight-lipped about the alleged
talks, it is believed that the companies will announce an update on
their engagement before the end of this year.

Car-makers across the globe are increasingly getting involved
in strategic alliances. Companies believe that in this way, they can
provide a much better product to the end consumer at a lower price. Cost
sharing can also save a huge sum of money that the companies spend as a
part of their R&D activities.

Ever since being hit by the diesel scandal, Volkswagen has been
heavily investing in developing electric vehicles. An example of this
effort is the recent launch of it MEB platform which will form the basis
of its upcoming EV family. The Germany based company also believes that
EV adoption will accelerate across the globe only when they can compete
with their diesel counterparts in pricing.

On the other hand, Ford has been investing heavily in the development
of self-driving cars. Ford recently announced that it will be investing
around $4 billion in its new entity, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC,
through 2023. This also includes $1 billion earmarked for Argo AI, an
autonomous vehicle start-up that it had bought in 2017.

Ford and VW are also a part of a EV Fast charging initiative, IONITY,
along with other car-makers like BMW and Daimler. IONITY aims to
develop ultra fast charging infrastructure across Europe.