Freedonia Analyst Weighs in on Ford and Volkswagen Partnership

Ford and Volkswagen can lean on each other to help market their vehicles in certain regions

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Jan 15, 2019, 14:27 ET

CLEVELAND, Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than six months of discussions, Ford and Volkswagen have formed a global alliance that will initially see the two companies offering pickup trucks and commercial vans. As the partnership progresses, there is also significant potential for the two automakers to invest in and jointly develop electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

According to analyst Kyle Peters, the partnership makes sense for a number of reasons. "First, Ford and Volkswagen can lean on each other to help market their vehicles in certain regions. VW could benefit from Ford's knowledge of the US market and Ford can use VW to better position its European operations. Second, the two automakers can potentially share the cost of researching and developing the next generation of EVs and autonomous vehicles."

EV sales are trending upward around the world. As consumer patterns shift toward EVs and, eventually, autonomous vehicles, automakers need to make sure that these vehicles are on offer to remain competitive. "Tesla has proven that EVs can be successful," says Peters, "but they are still priced too high for mass adoption. If Ford and VW can enter the EV space with a more competitively priced sedan or SUV, they could be pretty successful."

Additional analysis of the hybrid and electric vehicle industry can be found in the Freedonia Group's Global Hybrid & Electric Vehicles report.

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group