Volkswagen Group: strategic partnerships for the mobility of the future
Working together with strong partners, in all regions, to accelerate towards the mobility of tomorrow: this is the goal with which the Volkswagen Group, in recent years, has entered into strategic agreements aimed at faster and more cost-effective development of customer solutions.
The partnerships focus particularly on electric mobility, software, sustainability and battery technology. Here is a detailed overview.
E-mobility
Ford
Ford and Volkswagen have formed a global alliance in the field of commercial vehicles and electrification. Both companies share their platforms for electric cars and commercial vehicles. Projects include the Volkswagen Amarok, the Ford Tourneo Connect, the Volkswagen Transporter and the Ford Explorer. The collaboration aims to improve the customer experience, the cost efficiency and strengthen the market position of both companies. Ford incorporates Volkswagen technology in two of its electric vehicles in Europe.
Rivian
Rivian is a US manufacturer of electric vehicles and has been on the market since 2009. The Volkswagen Group and Rivian will develop next-generation, software-defined vehicle architectures in a joint venture that will be used in the future electric vehicles of both companies. Rivian’s expertise in electric adventure vehicles is evident in its R1T pickup and the R1S SUV. The investment in Rivian contributes to the Group’s electrification strategy and aligns with Volkswagen’s goals of further advancing electric technologies on the North American vehicle market.
Mahindra
The Volkswagen Group has signed a supply agreement with Indian automotive manufacturer Mahindra for components of Volkswagen’s MEB for Mahindra’s specially developed electric platform INGLO. The aim is to strengthen the e-mobility presence on the Indian automotive market and accelerate electrification in the region together. To this end, Mahindra aims to launch five fully electric SUVs on the market using Volkswagen technology and components. This will also make Mahindra the first external partner to use Volkswagen's unified cells.
Autonomous driving
mobileye
Mobileye is a global company based in Jerusalem which develops autonomous driving technologies. Mobileye will equip Volkswagen vehicles with advanced technologies in order to rapidly introduce premium-class driving functions into the large-volume models. In addition, Mobileye will supply other technology components for automated driving to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Mobileye’s computer vision technology is designed to improve safety functions and gradually enable advanced automated driving functions. Mobileye will supply Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with technologies for this purpose worldwide, with the exception of the Chinese market.
Sustainability
VULCAN GREEN STEEL
Vulcan Green Steel is part of the Jindal Group in India. The Volkswagen Group and Vulcan Green Steel have entered into a partnership to procure low-carbon steel. The aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of the entire supply chain by integrating low-carbon steel into Volkswagen’s production processes in order to reduce CO2 emissions by 70 per cent.
Battery development
ionway
Together with Belgian partner Umicore, PowerCo has founded the company Ionway, which will produce cathode material and raw materials - And all this “made in Europe”. The largest European site for cathode production will therefore be built in Nysa, Poland. Ionway aims to achieve a production volume sufficient to power up to 2.2 million electric vehicles per year.
KOENIG & BAUER
Koenig & Bauer is a German industrial company and the oldest printing machine manufacturer in the world. PowerCo has concluded a cooperation agreement with the company for development cooperation in the field of sustainable battery cell production. Together with PowerCo, Koenig & Bauer will develop a system for the industrial powder coating (solvent-free dry coating) of electrodes. This innovative process replaces the complex and energy-intensive drying of wet-coated electrodes and is expected to save around 30 per cent energy, reduce factory space by around 15 per cent and significantly reduce manufacturing costs.
QuantumScape
QuantumScape is a US-based battery research company. The partnership between PowerCo SE and QuantumScape focuses on industrialising the next generation of lithium-metal solid-state battery technologies. QuantumScape's solid-state batteries offer higher energy density and faster charging times. The aim is to mass produce them. The companies believe the agreement is the fastest way to mass-produce gigawatt-hour-scale solid-state cells to meet the growing global demand for increasingly better batteries for electric vehicles. It replaces a previous joint venture between the Volkswagen Group and QuantumScape for the collaborative production of battery cells.
China
XPENG
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng has been a partner of the Volkswagen Group since 2023. Together with Xpeng, Volkswagen is introducing the “China Electrical Architecture” (CEA) – a zonal electrical/electronic architecture. Developed jointly by experts from Xpeng, the Volkswagen China Technology Company and Cariad China, CEA is intended to ensure the rapid expansion of digital services in Volkswagen brand vehicles for the Chinese market.
Horizon Robotics
Horizon Robotics is a leading provider of computer solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) for smart vehicles in China. As part of the CARIZON joint venture, CARIAD and Horizon Robotics develop state-of-the-art, highly optimised complete ADAS/AD solutions for China. The goal is to rapidly develop automated driving solutions specially tailored to the Chinese market. This strengthens development expertise as part of the “In China, for China” strategy.
CAMS
CAMS New Energy Technology is a joint venture for the provision of charging infrastructure in China founded in 2019 by Volkswagen Group China, JAC, FAW and Star Charge. With the cooperation, Volkswagen aims to expand the rapid charging network, especially in China, and to develop advanced energy management services. Other aims are to improve charging infrastructure and energy services, increase customer comfort and support the energy transition. As of 31 August 2024, CAMS has installed 1,621 charging stations with over 13,000 charging points in 213 cities in China and serves over 5.55 million users.