BERLIN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Volkswagen and U.S. carmaker Ford have signed an agreement to expand their cooperation on electric vehicle production, it was revealed on Monday.
Ford had already announced in 2020 it would be manufacturing around 600,000 units of an all-electric crossover based on Volkswagen's MEB (Modular Electric Toolkit) platform. The model is to be produced in Cologne from 2023 onwards.
Through its expanded cooperation with Volkswagen, Germany's largest carmaker, Ford will now produce a second model. Its planned production volume of electric vehicles will therefore double to 1.2 million units, although specifications for the second model have not yet been announced.
"Profitability and speed are now crucial for finally achieving the breakthrough of e-mobility in Europe," said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group board of management member for technology. "Today's agreement will further accelerate the electrification of the two companies."
Volkswagen's MEB platform is currently used in ten electric models from five different brands. In 2021, around 300,000 vehicles were built based on this platform. ■
