Ford could end up building more than one model based on VW’s MEB platform, according to Ford of Europe boss, Stuart Rowley.
Rowley told German business paper Handelsblatt that making just one model made no sense financially and that a decision about whether or not they should build a second model could be made soon, as reported by Autonews Europe.
“Yes, we are in talks about this,” said Rowley.
Ford’s initial plan was to use VW’s MEB platform in order to design a new battery-electric model for its European operations, while expecting to sell more than 600,000 MEB-based vehicles in Europe over the span of six years beginning with 2023. How those numbers would be impacted by the addition of a second fully-electric car, is currently unknown.
Volkswagen meanwhile has invested $7 billion in its MEB architecture since 2016, and their plan for the next decade is to have MEB technology at the center of about 15 million cars from the VW brand, Audi, Skoda and Seat.
Also read: VW And Ford “Fit Together Really Well”, According To Bill Ford
The first MEB-based model out the gate was the VW ID.3, unveiled last week at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show – with more ID.-branded models expected to arrive in the coming years.
“Scaling our MEB drives down development costs for zero-emissions vehicles, allowing for a broader and faster global adoption of electric vehicles,” said VW CEO Herbert Diess this past summer. “This improves the positions of both companies [VW and Ford] through greater capital efficiency, further growth and improved competitiveness.”
