Ford, VW deepen alliance: $2.6B self-driving investment and an EV

FRANKFURT — Ford and Volkswagen joined forces to develop autonomous and electric cars on Friday and said they are looking at other areas of cooperation, deepening a global alliance to slash development and manufacturing costs.

VW will invest $2.6 billion into Argo AI, Ford’s self-driving cars venture, and Ford will build an electric car using VW’s MEB electric vehicle platform, the companies said.

Ford expects to build more than 600,000 electric vehicles sourcing components and the vehicle underpinnings from VW, helping both companies to drive down costs.

“Our global alliance is beginning to demonstrate even greater promise, and we are continuing to look at other areas on which we might collaborate,” VW’s Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Friday.